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littp://www.arcliive.org/details/beastsmengodsOOosseiala 


BEASTS,  MEN  AND  GODS 


WORKS  BY 
FERDINAND    OSSENDOWSKI 


BEASTS,  MEN  AND  GODS 

"A  book  of  astounding,  breath-taking,  en- 
thralling adventure,  an  Odyssey  whose  narrator 
encountered  more  perils  and  marvels  than  did 
Ulysses  himself." — New  York  Times. 

"One  of  the  most  thrilling  authentic  per- 
sonal narrations  of  adventure  ever  written." 
— New  York  Herald. 

"More  absorbing  than  any  fiction." — Pro- 
fessor Katharine  Lee  Bates  of  Wellesley  Col- 
lege. 

"Set  the  imagination  of  thousands  of  readers 
afire." — San  Francisco  Journal. 

MAN  AND  MYSTERY  IN  ASIA 

"This  is  the  most  wonderful  adventure  story 
of  the  twentieth  century." — Des  Moines  Mirror . 

"Each  arresting  episode  contributes  towards 
giving  a  more  enduring  impression  of  the  life 
of  the  semi-civilized  nomads  inhabiting  the 
vast  land  of  Siberia." — New  York  Evening  Post. 

"Dr.  Ossendowski's  adventures  rival  Defoe 
and  Verne." — Baltimore  Evening  Sun. 


E.   P.   DUTTON   &   COMPANY 


BEASTS,  MEN  AND  GODS 


BY 


FERDINAND  OSSENDOWSKI 

Officier  d'AcadSmie  Franqaise 


NEW  YORK 

E.  P.  DUTTON  &  COMPANY 
68 1   Fifth  Avenue 


Copyright,  1922 
By  E.  P.  DUTTON  &  COMPANY 


All  RigUs  Rtstned 


First  Edition  .  .  Aug.,  lOgt 
Second  Edition  .  Sept.,  1922 
Third  Edition  .  .  Oct.,  1922 
Fourth  Edition  .  Nov.,  1922 
Fifth  Edition  .  .  Dec,  1922 
Sixth  Edition  ,  .  Dec,  1922 
Seventh  Edition  .  Dec,  1922 
Eighth  Edition  .  Dec,  1922 
Ninth  Edition  .  .  Dec,  1922 
Tenth  Edition  .  .  Dec,  1922 
Eleventh  Edition  .  Jan.,  1923 
Twelfth  Edition  .  Jan.,  1923 
Thirteenth  Edition  Feb.,  1923 
Fourteenth  Edition  Feb.,  1923 
Fifteenth  Edition  Feb.,  1923 
Sixteenth  Edition  Feb.,  1923 
Seventtenth  Edition  Mar.,  19ti 
Eighteenth  Edition  .  June,  19SS 
Nineteenth  Edition  .  June,  1923 
Twentieth  Edition  .  June,  1023 
Twenty-first  Edition  June,  19SS 
Twenty-second  Edition  Nov.,  19S3 
Twenty-third  Edition  April,  1924 
Twenty-fourth  Edition  May,  19£4 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


College 
Library 

IS 

EXPLANATORY  NOTE         f^^ 


^ 


When  one  of  the  leading  publicists  in  America,  Dr. 
Albert  Shaw  of  the  Review  of  Reviews,  after  reading  the 
manuscript  of  Part  I  of  this  volume,  characterized  the 
author  as  "The  Robinson  Crusoe  of  the  Twentieth  Century," 
he  touched  the  feature  of  the  narrative  which  is  at  once  most 
attractive  and  most  dangerous ;  for  the  succession  of  trying 
and  thrilling  experiences  recorded  seems  in  places  too  highly 
colored  to  be  real  or,  sometimes,  even  possible  in  this  day 
and  generation.  I  desire,  therefore,  to  assure  the  reader 
at  the  outset  that  Dr.  Ossendowski  is  a  man  of  long  and 
diverse  experience  as  a  scientist  and  writer  with  a  training 
for  careful  observation  which  should  put  the  stamp  of 
accuracy  and  reliability  on  his  chronicle.  Only  the  extraor- 
dinary events  of  these  extraordinary  times  could  have 
thrown  one  with  so  many  talents  back  into  the  surroundings 
of  the  "Cave  Man"  and  thus  given  to  us  this  unusual  account 
of  personal  adventure,  of  great  human  mysteries  and  of  the 
political  and  religious  motives  which  are  energizing  the 
"Heart  of  Asia." 

My  share  in  the  work  has  been  to  induce  Dr.  Ossen- 
dowski to  write  his  story  at  this  time  and  to  assist  him  ki 
rendering  his  experiences  into  English. 

Lewis  Stanton  Palen. 


10 


CONTENTS 

PART  I.    DRAWING  LOTS  WITH  DEATH 

CHAPTER  PAGET 

I.    Into  the  Forests 3 

II.    The  Secret  of  My  Fellow  Traveler 10 

III.  The  Struggle  for  Life 16 

IV.  A  Fisherman 21 

V.    A  Dangerous  Neighbor 22 

VI.    A  River  in  Travail 26 

VII.    Through  Soviet  Siberia 31 

VIII.    Three  Days  ON  THE  Edge  OF  A  Precipice 34 

IX.     To  THE  SaYANS  AND  SAFETY 40 

X.    The  Battle  of  the  Seybi 49 

XI.    The  Barrier  of  Red  Partisans 58 

XII.    In  the  Country  of  Eternal  Peace 62 

XIII.  Mysteries,  Mir.\cles  and  a  New  Fight 71 

XIV.  The  River  of  the  Devil 79 

XV.    The  March  of  Ghosts 85 

XVI.    In  Mysterious  Tibet 90 

PART  II.     THE  LAND  OF  DEMONS 

XVII.    Mysterious  Mongolia loi 

XVIII.    The  Mysterious  Lama  Avenger 113 

XIX.    Wild  Chahars 122 

XX.    The  Demon  of  Jagisstai 126 

XXI.    The  Nest  of  Death 136 

vii 


VIU 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGB 

XXII.    Among  the  Mxjrderers 140 

XXIII.  On  a  Volcano 147 

XXIV.  A  Bloody  Chastisement 155 

XXV.    Harassing  Days 160 

XXVI.    The  Band  of  White  Hunghutzes 173 

XXVII.    Mystery  in  a  Small  Temple 177 

XXVIII.    The  Breath  of  Death 182 

PART  HI.     THE  STRAINING  HEART  OF  ASIA 

XXIX.    On  the  Road  of  Great  Conquerors 193 

XXX.    Arrested! 208 

XXXI.    Traveling  by  "  Urga  " 211 

XXXII.    An  Old  Fortune  Teller 218 

XXXIII.  "Death  from  the  White  Man  Will  Stand  Behind 

You" 222 

XXXIV.  The  Horror  of  War! 227 

XXXV.  In  the  City  of  Living  Gods,  30,000  Buddhas  and 

60,000  Monks 232 

XXXVI.    A  Son  of  Crusaders  and  Privateers 238 

XXXVII.    The  Camp  of  Martyrs 250 

XXXVIII.    Before  the  Face  of  Buddha 256 

XXXIX.    "The  Man  with  a  Head  like  a  Saddle" 267 

PART  IV.    THE  LIVING  BUDDHA 

XL,    In  the  Blissful  Garden  of  a  Thousand  Joys 273 

XLI.    The  Dust  of  Centuries 282 

-XLII.    The  Books  of  Miracles 287 

XLIII.    The  Birth  of  the  Living  Buddha 290 


CONTENTS  ix 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XLIV.    A  Page  in  the  History  of  the  Present  Living 

Buddha 292 

XLV.    The  Vision  of  the  Living  Buddha  of  May  17, 

1921 295 


PART  V.    MYSTERY  OF  MYSTERIES— THE  KING  OF  THE 

WORLD 

XLVI.    The  Subterranean  Kingdom 299 

XLVII.    The  King  of  the  World  before  the  Face  of 

God 307 

XLVIII.    Reality  or  Religious  Fantasy? 310 

XLIX.    The  Prophecy  of  the  King  of  the  World  in  1890.  313 


BEASTS,  MEN  AND  GODS 


Tftere  are  times,  men  and  events  about  which  History 
alone  can  record  the  final  judgments;  contemporaries  and 
individual  observers  must  only  write  what  they  have  seen 
and  heard.     The  very  truth  demands  it. 

Titus  Livius. 


ru 


Part  I 
DRAWING  LOTS  WITH  DEATH 


BEASTS,    MEN   AND    GODS 


Part  I 
DRAWING  LOTS  WITH  DEATH 


CHAPTER  I 
INTO  THE  FORESTS 

IN  the  beginning  of  the  year  1920  I  happened  to  be 
Hving  in  the  Siberian  town  of  Krasnoyarsk,  situated 
on  the  shores  of  the  River  Yenisei,  that  noble  stream 
which  is  cradled  in  the  sun-bathed  mountains  of  Mon- 
golia to  pour  its  warming  life  into  the  Arctic  Ocean  and 
to  whose  mouth  Nansen  has  twice  come  to  open  the 
shortest  road  for  commerce  from  Europe  to  the  heart 
of  Asia.  There  in  the  depths  of  the  still  Siberian  winter 
I  was  suddenly  caught  up  in  the  whirling  storm  of  mad 
revolution  raging  all  over  Russia,  sowing  in  this  peace- 
ful and  rich  land  vengeance,  hate,  bloodshed  and  crimes 
that  go  unpunished  by  the  law.  No  one  could  tell  the 
hour  of  his  fate.  The  people  lived  from  day  to  day 
and  left  their  homes  not  knowing  whether  they  should 

3 


4  BEASTS.   MEN  AND  GODS 

return  to  them  or  whether  they  should  be  dragged  from 
the  streets  and  thrown  into  the  dungeons  of  that  travesty 
of  courts,  the  Revolutionary  Committee,  more  terrible 
and  more  bloody  than  those  of  the  Mediaeval  Inquisition. 
We  who  were  strangers  in  this  distraught  land  were 
not  saved  from  its  persecutions  and  I  personally  lived 
through  them. 

One  morning,  when  I  had  gone  out  to  see  a  friend, 
I  suddenly  received  the  news  that  twenty  Red  soldiers 
had  surrounded  my  house  to  arrest  me  and  that  I  must 
escape.  I  quickly  put  on  one  of  my  friend's  old  hunting 
suits,  took  some  money  and  hurried  away  on  foot  along 
the  back  ways  of  the  town  till  I  struck  the  open  road, 
where  I  engaged  a  peasant,  who  in  four  hours  had  driven 
me  twenty  miles  from  the  town  and  set  me  down  in 
the  midst  of  a  deeply  forested  region.  On  the  way  I 
bought  a  rifle,  three  hundred  cartridges,  an  ax,  a  knife, 
a  sheepskin  overcoat,  tea,  salt,  dry  bread  and  a  kettle. 
I  penetrated  into  the  heart  of  the  wood  to  an  abandoned 
half -burned  hut.  From  this  day  I  became  a  genuine 
trapper  but  I  never  dreamed  that  I  should  follow  this 
role  as  long  as  I  did.  The  next  morning  I  went  hunting 
and  had  the  good  fortune  to  kill  two  heathcock.  I  found 
deer  tracks  in  plenty  and  felt  sure  that  I  should  not 
want  for  food.  However,  my  sojourn  in  this  place  was 
not  for  long.  Five  days  later  when  I  returned  from 
hunting  I  noticed  smoke  curling  up  out  of  the  chimney 
of  my  hut.  I  stealthily  crept  along  closer  to  the  cabin 
and  discovered  two  saddled  horses  with  soldiers'  rifles 
slung  to  the  saddles.  Two  disarmed  men  were  not 
dangerous  for  me  with  a  weapon,  so  I  quickly  rushed 
across  the  open  and  entered  the  hut.     From  the  bench 


INTO  THE  FORESTS  5 

two  soldiers  started  up  in  fright.  They  were  Bolsheviki. 
On  their  big  Astrakhan  caps  I  made  out  the  red  stars 
of  Bolshevism  and  on  their  blouses  the  dirty  red  bands. 
We  greeted  each  other  and  sat  down.  The  soldiers  had 
already  prepared  tea  and  so  we  drank  this  ever  welcome 
hot  beverage  and  chatted,  suspiciously  eyeing  one  an- 
other the  while.  To  disarm  this  suspicion  on  their  part, 
I  told  them  that  I  was  a  hunter  from  a  distant  place 
and  was  living  there  because  I  found  it  good  country 
for  sables.  They  announced  to  me  that  they  were  soldiers 
of  a  detachment  sent  from  a  town  into  the  woods  to 
pursue  all  suspicious  people. 

"Do  you  understand,  'Comrade,'  "  said  one  of  them  to 
me,  "we  are  looking  for  counter-revolutionists  to  shoot 
them?" 

I  knew  it  without  his  explanations.  All  my  forces 
were  directed  to  assuring  them  by  my  conduct  that  I 
was  a  simple  peasant  hunter  and  that  I  had  nothing 
in  common  with  the  counter-revolutionists.  I  was  think- 
ing also  all  the  time  of  where  I  should  go  after  the 
departure  of  my  unwelcome  guests.  It  grew  dark.  In 
the  darkness  their  faces  were  even  less  attractive.  They 
took  out  bottles  of  vodka  and  drank  and  the  alcohol 
began  to  act  very  noticeably.  They  talked  loudly  and 
constantly  interrupted  each  other,  boasting  how  many 
bourgeoisie  they  had  killed  in  Krasnoyarsk  and  how 
many  Cossacks  they  had  slid  under  the  ice  in  the  river. 
Afterwards  they  began  to  quarrel  but  soon  they  were 
tired  and  prepared  to  sleep.  All  of  a  sudden  and  without 
any  warning  the  door  of  the  hut  swung  wide  open 
and  the  steam  of  the  heated  room  rolled  out  in  a  great 
cloud,  out  of  which  seemed  to  rise  like  a  genie,  as  the 


6  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

steam  settled,  the  figure  of  a  tall,  gaunt  peasant  impres- 
sively crowned  with  the  high  Astrakhan  cap  and  wrapped 
in  the  great  sheepskin  overcoat  that  added  to  the  mas- 
siveness  of  his  figure.  He  stood  with  his  rifle  ready 
to  fire.  Under  his  girdle  lay  the  sharp  ax  without  which 
the  Siberian  peasant  cannot  exist.  Eyes,  quick  and  glim- 
mering like  those  of  a  wild  beast,  fixed  themselves  alter- 
nately on  each  of  us.  In  a  moment  he  took  off  his 
cap,  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  his  breast  and  asked 
of  us:     "Who  is  the  master  here?" 

I  answered  him. 

"May  I  stop  the  night?" 

"Yes,"  I  replied,  "places  enough  for  all.  Take  a  cup 
of  tea.    It  is  still  hot." 

The  stranger,  running  his  eyes  constantly  over  all  of 
us  and  over  everything  about  the  room,  began  to  take 
off  his  skin  coat  after  putting  his  rifle  in  the  corner. 
He  was  dressed  in  an  old  leather  blouse  with  trousers 
of  the  same  material  tucked  in  high  felt  boots.  His 
face  was  quite  young,  fine  and  tinged  with  something 
akin  to  mockery.  His  white,  sharp  teeth  glimmered  as 
his  eyes  penetrated  everything  they  rested  upon.  I 
noticed  the  locks  of  grey  in  his  shaggy  head.  Lines  of 
bitterness  circled  his  mouth.  They  showed  his  life  had 
been  very  stormy  and  full  of  danger.  He  took  a  seat 
beside  his  rifle  and  laid  his  ax  on  the  floor  below. 

"What?  Is  it  your  wife?"  asked  one  of  the  drunken 
soldiers,  pointing  to  the  ax. 

The  tall  peasant  looked  calmly  at  him  from  the  quiet 
eyes  under  their  heavy  brows  and  as  calmly  answered: 

"One  meets  a  different  folk  these  days  and  with  an 
ax  it  is  much  safer." 


INTO  THE  FORESTS  7 

He  began  to  drink  tea  very  greedily,  while  his  eyes 
looked  at  me  many  times  with  sharp  inquiry  in  them 
and  ran  often  round  the  whole  cabin  in  search  of  the 
answer  to  his  doubts.  Very  slowly  and  with  a  guarded 
drawl  he  answered  all  the  questions  of  the  soldiers  be- 
tween gulps  of  the  hot  tea,  then  he  turned  his  glass  up- 
side down  as  evidence  of  having  finished,  placed  on  the 
top  of  it  the  small  lump  of  sugar  left  and  remarked  to 
the  soldiers: 

"I  am  going  out  to  look  after  my  horse  and  will 
unsaddle  your  horses  for  you  also." 

"All  right,"  exclaimed  the  half-sleeping  young  soldier, 
"bring  in  our  rifles  as  well." 

The  soldiers  were  lying  on  the  benches  and  thus  left 
for  us  only  the  floor.  The  stranger  soon  came  back, 
brought  the  rifles  and  set  them  in  the  dark  corner.  He 
dropped  the  saddle  pads  on  the  floor,  sat  down  on  them 
and  began  to  take  off  his  boots.  The  soldiers  and  my 
guest  soon  were  snoring  but  I  did  not  sleep  for  think- 
ing of  what  next  to  do.  Finally  as  dawn  was  breaking, 
I  dozed  off  only  to  awake  in  the  broad  daylight  and 
find  my  stranger  gone.  I  went  outside  the  hut  and 
discovered  him  saddling  a  fine  bay  stallion. 

"Are  you  going  away?"    I  asked. 

"Yes,  but  I  want  to  go  together  with  these  

'comrades,'  "  he  whispered,  "and  afterwards  I  shall  come 
back." 

I  did  not  ask  him  anything  further  and  told  him  only 
that  I  would  wait  for  him.  He  took  off  the  bags  that 
had  been  hanging  on  his  saddle,  put  them  away  out  of 
sight  in  the  burned  corner  of  the  cabin,  looked  over  the 


8  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

stirrups  and  bridle  and,  as  he  finished  saddling,  smiled 
and  said: 

"I  am  ready.     I'm  going  to  awake  my  'comrades/  " 
Half  an  hour  after  the  morning  drink  of  tea,  my  three 
guests  took  their  leave.     I  remained  out  of  doors  and 
was  engaged  in  splitting  wood  for  my  stove.     Suddenly, 
from  a  distance,  rifle  shots  rang  through  the  woods,  first 
one,  then  a  second.     Afterwards  all  was  still.     From 
the  place  near  the  shots  a  frightened  covey  of  blackcock 
broke  and  came  over  me.     At  the  top  of  a  high  pine  a 
jay  cried  out.     I  listened  for  a  long  time  to  see  if  any- 
one was  approaching  my  hut  but  everything  was  still. 
On  the  lower  Yenisei  it  grows  dark  very  early.     I 
built  a  fire  in  my  stove  and  began  to  cook  my  soup, 
constantly  listening  for  every  noise  that  came  from  be- 
yond the  cabin  walls.    Certainly  I  understood  at  all  times 
very  clearly  that  death  was  ever  beside  me  and  might 
claim  me  by  means  of  either  man,  beast,  cold,  accident 
or  disease.     I  knew  that  nobody  was  near  me  to  assist 
and  that  all  my  help  was  in  the  hands  of  God,  in  the 
power  of  my  hands  and  feet,  in  the  accuracy  of  my  aim 
and  in  my  presence  of  mind.     However,  I  listened  in 
vain.     I  did  not  notice  the  return  of  my  stranger.     Like 
yesterday  he   appeared   all   at  once   on    the    threshold. 
Through  the  steam  I  made  out  his  laughing  eyes  and 
his   fine   face.      He   stepped  into  the  hut   and   dropped 
with  a  good  deal  of  noise  three  rifles  into  the  comer. 

"Two  horses,  two  rifles,  two  saddles,  two  boxes  of 
dry  bread,  half  a  brick  of  tea,  a  small  bag  of  salt,  fifty 
cartridges,  two  overcoats,  two  pairs  of  boots,"  laugh- 
ingly he  counted  out.  "In  truth  today  I  had  a  very 
successful  hunt." 


INTO  THE  FORESTS  9 

In  astonishment  I  looked  at  him. 

"What  are  you  surprised  at?"  he  laughed.  "Komu 
nujny  eti  tovarischif  Who's  got  any  use  for  these 
fellows?  Let  us  have  tea  and  go  to  sleep.  Tomorrow 
I  will  guide  you  to  another  safer  place  and  then  go  on." 


% 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  SECRET  OF  MY  FELLOW  TRAVELER 

AT  the  dawn  of  day  we  started  forth,  leaving  my  first 
place  of  refuge.  Into  the  bags  we  packed  our 
personal  estate  and  fastened  them  on  one  of  the  saddles. 

"We  must  go  four  or  five  hundred  versts,"  very  calmly 
announced  my  fellow  traveler,  who  called  himself 
"Ivan,"  a  name  that  meant  nothing  to  my  mind  or  heart 
in  this  land  where  every  second  man  bore  the  same. 

"We  shall  travel  then  for  a  very  long  time,"  I  re- 
marked regretfully. 

"Not  more  than  one  week,  perhaps  even  less,"  he 
answered. 

That  night  we  spent  in  the  woods  under  the  wide 
spreading  branches  of  the  fir  trees.  It  was  my  first 
night  in  the  forest  under  the  open  sky.  How  many  like 
this  I  was  destined  to  spend  in  the  year  and  a  half  of 
my  wanderings!  During  the  day  there  was  very  sharp 
cold.  Under  the  hoofs  of  the  horses  the  frozen  snow 
crunched  ,and  the  balls  that  formed  and  broke  from 
their  hoofs  rolled  away  over  the  crust  with  a  sound 
like  crackling  glass.  The  heathcock  flew  from  the  trees 
very  idly,  hares  loped  slowly  down  the  beds  of  summer 
streams.  At  night  the  wind  began  to  sigh  and  whistle 
as  it  bent  the  tops  of  the  trees  over  our  heads;  while 
below  it  was  still  and  calm.    We  stopped  in  a  deep  ravine 

to 


THE  SECRET  OF  MY  FELLOW  TRAVELER      ii 

bordered  by  heavy  trees,  where  we  found  fallen  firs, 
cut  them  into  logs  for  the  fire  and,  after  having  boiled 
our  tea,  dined. 

Ivan  dragged  in  two  tree  trunks,  squared  them  on  one 
side  with  his  ax,  laid  one  on  the  other  with  the  squared 
faces  together  and  then  drove  in  a  big  wedge  at  the 
butt  ends  which  separated  them  three  or  four  inches. 
Then  we  placed  live  coals  in  this  opening  and  watched 
the  fire  run  rapidly  the  whole  length  of  the  squared  faces 
Z'is-d-z'is. 

"Now  there  will  be  a  fire  in  the  morning,"  he 
announced.  "This  is  the  'ncdda'  of  the  gold  prospectors. 
We  prospectors  wandering  in  the  woods  summer  and 
winter  always  sleep  beside  this  'naida*  Fine!  You 
shall  see  for  yourself,"  he  continued. 

He  cut  fir  branches  and  made  a  sloping  roof  out  of 
them,  resting  it  on  two  uprights  toward  the  naida.  Above 
our  roof  of  boughs  and  our  nmda  spread  the  branches 
of  protecting  fir.  More  branches  were  brought  and 
spread  on  the  snow  under  the  roof,  on  these  were  placed 
the  saddle  cloths  and  together  they  made  a  seat  for  Ivan 
to  rest  on  and  to  take  off  his  outer  garments  down  to  bis 
blouse.  Soon  I  noticed  his  forehead  was  wet  with  per- 
spiration and  that  he  was  wiping  it  and  his  neck  on  his 
sleeves. 

"Now  it  is  good  and  warm!"  he  exclaimed. 

In  a  short  time  I  was  also  forced  to  take  off  my  over- 
coat and  soon  lay  down  to  sleep  witliout  any  covering 
at  all,  while  through  the  branches  of  the  fir  trees  and 
our  roof  glimmered  the  cold  bright  stars  and  just  be- 
yond the  naida  raged  a  stinging  cold,  from  which  we 
were  cosily  defended.     After  this  night  I  was  no  longer 


12  BEASTS,  MEN  AND  GODS 

frightened  by  the  cold.  Frozen  during  the  days  on  horse- 
back, I  was  thoroughly  warmed  through  by  the  genial 
naida  at  night  and  rested  from  my  heavy  overcoat,  sit- 
ting only  in  my  blouse  under  the  roofs  of  pine  and  fir 
and  sipping  the  ever  welcome  tea. 

During  our  daily  treks  Ivan  related  to  me  the  stories 
of  his  wanderings  through  the  mountains  and  woods  of 
Transbaikalia  in  the  search  for  gold.  These  stories  were 
very  lively,  full  of  attractive  adventure,  danger  and 
struggle.  Ivan  was  a  type  of  these  prospectors  who 
have  discovered  in  Russia,  and  perhaps  in  other  coun- 
tries, the  richest  gold  mines,  while  they  themselves  re- 
main beggars.  He  evaded  telling  me  why  he  left  Trans- 
baikalia to  come  to  the  Yenisei.  I  understood  from  his 
manner  that  he  wished  to  keep  his  own  counsel  and 
so  did  not  press  him.  However,  the  blanket  of  secrecy 
covering  this  part  of  his  mysterious  life  was  one  day 
quite  fortuitously  lifted  a  bit.  We  were  already  at  the 
objective  point  of  our  trip.  The  whole  day  we  had 
traveled  with  difficulty  through  a  thick  growth  of  willow, 
approaching  the  shore  of  the  big  right  branch  of  the 
Yenisei,  the  Mana.  Everywhere  we  saw  runways 
packed  hard  by  the  feet  of  the  hares  living  in  this  bush. 
These  small  white  denizens  of  the  wood  ran  to  and  fro 
in  front  of  us.  Another  time  we  saw  the  red  tail  of  a 
fox  hiding  behind  a  rock,  watching  us  and  the  unsuspect- 
ing hares  at  the  same  time. 

Ivan  had  been  silent  for  a  long  while.  Then  he  spoke 
up  and  told  me  that  not  far  from  there  was  a  small 
branch  of  the  Mana,  at  the  mouth  of  which  was  a  hut. 

"What  do  you  say?  Shall  we  push  on  there  or  spend 
the  night  by  the  naida?" 


THE  SECRET  OF  MY  FELLOW  TRAVELER      13 

I  suggested  going  to  the  hut,  because  I  wanted  to  wash 
and  because  it  would  be  agreeable  to  spend  the  night 
under  a  genuine  roof  again.  Ivan  knitted  his  brows 
but  acceded. 

It  was  growing  dark  when  we  approached  a  hut  sur- 
rounded by  the  dense  wood  and  wild  raspberry  bushes. 
It  contained  one  small  room  with  two  microscopic 
windows  and  a  gigantic  Russian  stove.  Against  the 
building  were  the  remains  of  a  shed  and  a  cellar.  We 
fired  the  stove  and  prepared  our  modest  dinner.  Ivan 
drank  from  the  bottle  inherited  from  the  soldiers  and 
in  a  short  time  was  very  eloquent,  with  brilliant  eyes- 
and  with  hands  that  coursed  frequently  and  rapidly 
through  his  long  locks.  He  began  relating  to  me  the 
story  of  one  of  his  adventures,  but  suddenly  stopped 
and,  with  fear  in  his  eyes,  squinted  into  a  dark  comer. 

"Is  it  a  rat?"  he  asked. 

"I  did  not  see  anything,"  I  replied. 

He  again  became  silent  and  reflected  with  knitted  brow. 
Often  we  were  silent  through  long  hours  and  conse- 
quently I  was  not  astonished.  Ivan  leaned  over  near  to 
me  and  began  to  whisper. 

"I  want  to  tell  you  an  old  story.  I  had  a  friend  in 
Transbaikalia.  He  was  a  banished  convict.  His  name 
was  Gavronsky.  Through  many  woods  and  over  many 
mountains  we  traveled  in  search  of  gold  and  we  had 
an  agreement  to  divide  all  we  got  into  even  shares.  But 
Gavronsky  suddenly  went  out  to  the  'Taiga'  on  the 
Yenisei  and  disappeared.  After  five  years  we  heard 
that  he  had  found  a  very  rich  gold  mine  and  had  be- 
come a  rich  man;  then  later  that  he  and  his  wife  with 


14  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

him  had  been  murdered.  ..."  Ivan  was  still  for  a 
moment  and  then  continued: 

"This  is  their  old  hut.  Here  he  lived  with  his  wife 
and  somewhere  on  this  river  he  took  out  his  gold.  But 
he  told  nobody  where.  All  the  peasants  around  here 
know  that  he  had  a  lot  of  money  in  the  bank  and  that 
he  had  been  selling  gold  to  the  Government.  Here  they 
were  murdered." 

Ivan  stepped  to  the  stove,  took  out  a  flaming  stick 
and,  bending  over,  lighted  a  spot  on  the  floor. 

"Do  you  see  these  spots  on  the  floor  and  on  the  wall  ? 
It  is  their  blood,  the  blood  of  Gavronsky.  They  died 
but  they  did  not  disclose  the  whereabouts  of  the  gold. 
It  was  taken  out  of  a  deep  hole  which  they  had  drifted 
into  the  bank  of  the  river  and  was  hidden  in  the  cellar 
under  the  shed.  But  Gavronsky  gave  nothing  away. 
.  .  .  And  Lord  how  I  tortured  them!  I  burned  them 
with  fire;  I  bent  back  their  fingers;  I  gouged  out  their 
eyes;  but  Gavronsky  died  in  silence." 

He  thought  for  a  moment,  then  quickly  said  to  me: 

"I  have  heard  all  this  from  the  peasants."  He  threw 
the  log  into  the  stove  and  flopped  down  on  the  bench. 
"It's  time  to  sleep,"  he  snapped  out,  and  was  still. 

I  listened  for  a  long  time  to  his  breathing  and  his 
whispering  to  himself,  as  he  turned  from  one  side  to 
the  other  and  smoked  his  pipe. 

In  the  morning  we  left  this  scene  of  so  much  suffer- 
ing and  crime  and  on  the  seventh  day  of  our  journey 
we  came  to  the  dense  cedar  wood  growing  on  the  foot- 
hills of  a  long  chain  of  mountains. 

"From  here,"  Ivan  explained  to  me,  "it  is  eighty  ?y^r.$-/.r 
to  the  next  peasant  settlement.    The  people  come  to  these 


THE  SECRET  OF  MY  FELLOW  TRAVELER   15 

woods  to  gather  cedar  nuts  but  only  in  the  autumn.  Be- 
fore then  you  will  not  meet  anyone.  Also  you  will 
find  many  birds  and  beasts  and  a  plentiful  supply  of 
nuts,  so  that  it  will  be  possible  for  you  to  Hve  here. 
Do  you  see  this  river?  When  you  want  to  find  the 
peasants,  follow  along  this  stream  and  it  will  guide  you 
to  them." 

Ivan  helped  me  build  my  mud  hut.  But  it  was  not 
the  genuine  mud  hut.  It  was  one  formed  by  the  tearing 
out  of  the  roots  of  a  great  cedar,  that  had  probably  fallen 
in  some  wild  storm,  which  made  for  me  the  deep  hole 
as  the  room  for  my  house  and  flanked  this  on  one  side 
with  a  wall  of  mud  held  fast  among  the  upturned  roots. 
Overhanging  ones  formed  also  the  framework  into  which 
we  interlaced  the  poles  and  branches  to  make  a  roof, 
finished  off  with  stones  for  stability  and  snow  for 
warmth.  The  front  of  the  hut  was  ever  open  but 
was  constantly  protected  by  the  guardian  naida.  In  that 
snow-covered  den  I  spent  two  months  like  summer  with- 
out seeing  any  other  human  being  and  without  touch 
with  the  outer  world  where  such  important  events  were 
transpiring.  In  that  grave  under  the  roots  of  the  fallen 
tree  I  lived  before  the  face  of  nature  with  my  trials 
and  my  anxiety  about  my  family  as  my  constant  com- 
panions, and  in  the  hard  struggle  for  my  life.  Ivan 
went  off  the  second  day,  leaving  for  me  a  bag  of  dry 
bread  and  a  little  sugar.     I  never  saw  him  again. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  LIFE 

THEN  I  was  alone.  Around  me  only  the  wood  of 
eternally  green  cedars  covered  with  snow,  the  bare 
bushes,  the  frozen  river  and,  as  far  as  I  could  see  out 
through  the  branches  and  the  trunks  of  the  trees,  only 
the  great  ocean  of  cedars  and  snow.  Siberian  taiga! 
How  long  shall  I  be  forced  to  live  here?  Will  the 
Bolsheviki  find  me  here  or  not?  Will  my  friends  know 
where  I  am?  What  is  happening  to  my  family?  These 
questions  were  constantly  as  burning  fires  in  my  brain. 
Soon  I  understood  why  Ivan  guided  me  so  long.  We 
passed  many  secluded  places  on  the  journey,  far  away 
from  all  people,  where  Ivan  could  have  safely  left  me 
but  he  always  said  that  he  would  take  me  to  a  place 
where  it  would  be  easier  to  live.  And  it  was  so.  The 
charm  of  my  lone  refuge  was  in  the  cedar  wood  and 
in  the  mountains  covered  with  tliese  forests  which 
stretched  to  every  horizon.  The  cedar  is  a  splendid, 
powerful  tree  with  wide-spreading  branches,  an  eternally 
green  tent,  attracting  to  its  shelter  every  living  being. 
Among  the  cedars  was  always  effervescent  life.  There 
the  squirrels  were  continually  kicking  up  a  row,  jumping 
from  tree  to  tree;  the  nut-jobbers  cried  shrilly;  a  flock 
of  bullfinches  with  carmine  breasts  swept  through  the 
trees  like  a  flame;  or  a  small  army  of  goldfinches  broke 

i6 


THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  LIFE  17 

in  and  filled  the  amphitheatre  of  trees  with  their  whist- 
ling; a  hare  scooted  from  one  tree  trunk  to  another  and 
behind  him  stole  up  the  hardly  visible  shadow  of  a  white 
ermine,  crawling  on  the  snow,  and  I  watched  for  a  long 
time  the  black  spot  which  I  knew  to  be  the  tip  of  his 
tail ;  carefully  treading  the  hard  crusted  snow  approached 
a  noble  deer;  at  last  there  visited  me  from  the  top  of 
the  mountain  the  king  of  the  Siberian  forest,  the  brown 
bear.  All  this  distracted  me  and  carried  away  the  black 
thoughts  from  my  brain,  encouraging  me  to  persevere. 
It  was  good  for  me  also,  though  difficult,  to  climb  to  the 
top  of  my  moimtain,  which  reached  up  out  of  the  forest 
and  from  which  I  could  look  away  to  the  range  of  red 
on  the  horizon.  It  was  the  red  cliff  on  the  farther  bank 
of  the  Yenisei.  There  lay  the  country,  the  towns,  the 
enemies  and  the  friends;  and  there  was  even  the  point 
which  I  located  as  the  place  of  my  family.  It  was  the 
reason  why  Ivan  had  guided  me  here.  And  as  the  days 
in  this  solitude  slipped  by  I  began  to  miss  sorely  this 
companion  who,  though  the  murderer  of  Gavronsky,  had 
taken  care  of  me  like  a  father,  always  saddling  my  horse 
for  me,  cutting  the  wood  and  doing  everything  to  make 
me  comfortable.  He  had  spent  many  winters  alone  with 
nothing  except  his  thoughts,  face  to  face  with  nature 
— I  should  say,  before  the  face  of  God.  He  had  tried 
the  horrors  of  solitude  and  had  acquired  facility  in  bear- 
ing them.  I  thought  sometimes,  if  I  had  to  meet  my 
end  in  this  place,  that  I  would  spend  my  last  strength 
to  drag  myself  to  the  top  of  the  mountain  to  die  there, 
looking  away  over  the  infinite  sea  of  mountains  and 
forest  toward  the  point  where  my  loved  ones  were. 
However,  the  same  life  gave  me  much  matter   for 


i8  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

reflection  and  yet  more  occupation  for  the  physical  side. 
It  was  a  continuous  struggle  for  existence,  hard  and  se- 
vere. The  hardest  work  was  the  preparation  of  the  big 
logs  for  the  naida.  The  fallen  trunks  of  the  trees  were 
covered  with  snow  and  frozen  to  the  ground.  I  was 
forced  to  dig  them  out  and  afterwards,  with  the  help 
of  a  long  stick  as  a  lever,  to  move  them  from  their 
place.  For  facilitating  this  work  I  chose  the  mountain 
for  my  supplies,  where,  although  difficult  to  climb,  it 
was  easy  to  roll  the  logs  down.  Soon  I  made  a  splendid 
discovery.  I  found  near  my  den  a  great  quantity  of 
larch,  this  beautiful  yet  sad  forest  giant,  fallen  during 
a  big  storm.  The  trunks  were  covered  with  snow  but 
remained  attached  to  their  stumps,  where  they  had 
broken  off.  When  I  cut  into  these  stumps  with  the  ax, 
the  head  buried  itself  and  could  with  difficulty  be  drawn 
and,  investigating  the  reason,  I  found  them  filled  with 
pitch.  Chips  of  this  wood  needed  only  a  spark  to  set 
them  aflame  and  ever  afterward  I  always  had  a  stock 
of  them  to  light  up  quickly  for  warming  my  hands  on 
returning  from  the  hunt  or  for  boiling  my  tea. 

The  greater  part  of  my  days  was  occupied  with  the 
hunt.  I  came  to  understand  that  I  must  distribute  my 
work  over  every  day,  for  it  distracted  me  from  my  sad 
and  depressing  thoughts.  Generally,  after  my  morning 
tea,  I  went  into  the  forest  to  seek  heathcock  or  black- 
cock. After  killing  one  or  two  I  began  to  prepare  my 
dinner,  which  never  had  an  extensive  menu.  It  was 
constantly  game  soup  with  a  handful  of  dried  bread  and 
afterwards  endless  cups  of  tea,  this  essential  beverage 
of  the  woods.  Once,  during  my  search  for  birds,  I 
heard  a  rustle  in  the  dense  shrubs  and,  carefully  peering 


THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  LIFE  19 

about,  I  discovered  the  points  of  a  deer's  horns.  I 
crawled  along  toward  the  spot  but  the  watchful  animal 
heard  my  approach.  With  a  great  noise  he  rushed  from 
the  bush  and  I  saw  him  very  clearly,  after  he  had  run 
about  three  hundred  steps,  stop  on  the  slope  of  the 
mountain.  It  was  a  splendid  animal  with  dark  grey 
coat,  with  almost  a  black  spine  and  as  large  as  a  small 
cow.  I  laid  my  rifle  across  a  branch  and  fired.  The 
animal  made  a  great  leap,  ran  several  steps  and  fell. 
With  all  my  strength  I  ran  to  him  but  he  got  up  again 
and  half  jumped,  half  dragged  himself  up  the  mountain. 
The  second  shot  stopped  him.  I  had  won  a  warm  carpet 
for  my  den  and  a  large  stock  of  meat.  The  horns  I 
fastened  up  among  the  branches  of  my  wall,  where  they 
made  a  fine  hat  rack. 

I  cannot  forget  one  very  interesting  but  wild  picture, 
which  was  staged  for  me  several  kilometres  from  my 
den.  There  was  a  small  swamp  covered  with  grass  and 
cranberries  scattered  through  it,  where  the  blackcock  and 
sand  partridges  usually  came  to  feed  on  tlie  berries.  I 
approached  noiselessly  behind  the  bushes  and  saw  a  whole 
flock  of  blackcock  scratching  in  the  snow  and  picking 
out  the  berries.  While  I  was  surveying  this  scene,  sud- 
denly one  of  the  blackcock  jumped  up  and  the  rest  of 
the  frightened  flock  immediately  flew  away.  To  my 
astonishment  the  first  bird  began  going  straight  up  in 
a  spiral  flight  and  afterwards  dropped  directly  down 
dead.  When  I  approached  there  sprang  from  the  body 
of  the  slain  cock  a  rapacious  ermine  that  hid  under  the 
trunk  of  a  fallen  tree.  The  bird's  neck  was  badly  torn. 
I  then  understood  that  the  ermine  had  charged  the  cock, 
fastened  itself  on  his  neck  and  had  been  carried  by  the 


20  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

bird  into  the  air,  as  he  sucked  the  blood  from  its  throat, 
and  had  been  the  cause  of  the  heavy  fall  back  to  the 
earth.  Thanks  to  his  aeronautic  ability  I  saved  one 
cartridge. 

So  I  lived  fighting  for  the  morrow  and  more  and  more 
poisoned  by  hard  and  bitter  thoughts.  The  days  and 
weeks  passed  and  soon  I  felt  the  breath  of  warmer  winds. 
On  the  open  places  the  snow  began  to  thaw.  In  spots 
the  little  rivulets  of  water  appeared.  Another  day  I 
saw  a  fly  or  a  spider  awakened  after  the  hard  winter. 
The  spring  was  coming.  I  realized  that  in  spring  it  was 
impossible  to  go  out  from  the  forest.  Every  river  over- 
flowed its  banks;  the  swamps  became  impassable;  all 
the  runways  of  the  animals  turned  into  beds  for  streams 
of  running  water.  I  understood  that  until  summer  I 
was  condemned  to  a  continuation  of  my  solitude.  Spring 
very  quickly  came  into  her  rights  and  soon  my  moun- 
tain was  free  from  snow  and  was  covered  only  with 
stones,  the  trunks  of  birch  and  aspen  trees  and  the  high 
cones  of  ant  hills;  the  river  in  places  broke  its  covering 
of  ice  and  was  coursing  full  with  foam  and  bubbles. 


CHAPTER  IV 

A  FISHERMAN 

/^  NE  day  during  the  hunt,  I  approached  the  bank  of 
^^  the  river  and  noticed  many  very  large  fish  with 
red  backs,  as  though  filled  with  blood.  They  were  swim- 
ming on  the  surface  enjoying  the  rays  of  the  sun.  When 
the  river  was  entirely  free  from  ice,  these  fish  appeared 
in  enormous  quantities.  Soon  I  realized  that  they  were 
working  up-stream  for  the  spawning  season  in  the  smaller 
rivers.  I  thought  to  use  a  plundering  method  of  catch- 
ing, forbidden  by  the  law  of  all  countries;  but  all  the 
lawyers  and  legislators  should  be  lenient  to  one  who 
lives  in  a  den  under  the  roots  of  a  fallen  tree  and  dares 
to  break  their  rational  laws. 

Gathering  many  thin  birch  and  aspen  trees  I  built  in 
the  bed  of  the  stream  a  weir  which  the  fish  could  not' 
pass  and  soon  I  found  them  trying  to  jump  over  it.  Near 
the  bank  I  left  a  hole  in  my  barrier  about  eighteen  inches 
below  the  surface  and  fastened  on  the  up-stream  side  a 
high  basket  plaited  from  soft  willow  twigs,  into  which 
the  fish  came  as  they  passed  the  hole.  Then  I  stood 
cruelly  by  and  hit  them  on  the  head  with  a  strong  stick. 
All  my  catch  were  over  thirty  pounds,  some  more  than 
eighty.  This  variety  of  fish  is  called  the  tairnen,  is  of 
the  trout  family  and  is  the  best  in  the  Yenisei. 

After  two  weeks  the  fish  had  passed  and  my  basket 
gave  me  no  more  treasure,  so  I  began  anew  the  hunt. 


CHAPTER  V 
A  DANGEROUS  NEIGHBOR 

THE  hunt  became  more  and  more  profitable  and 
enjoyable,  as  spring  animated  everything.  In  the 
morning  at  the  break  of  day  the  forest  was  full  of  voices, 
strange  and  undiscernible  to  the  inhabitant  of  the  town. 
There  the  heathcock  clucked  and  sang  his  song  of  love, 
as  he  sat  on  the  top  branches  of  the  cedar  and  admired 
the  grey  hen  scratching  in  the  fallen  leaves  below.  It 
was  very  easy  to  approach  this  full- feathered  Caruso 
and  with  a  shot  to  bring  him  down  from  his  more  poetic 
to  his  more  utilitarian  duties.  His  going  out  was  an 
euthanasia,  for  he  was  in  love  and  heard  nothing.  Out 
in  the  clearing  the  blackcocks  with  their  wide-spread 
spotted  tails  were  fighting,  while  the  hens  strutting  near, 
craning  and  chattering,  probably  some  gossip  about  their 
fighting  swains,  watched  and  were  delighted  with  them. 
From  the  distance  flowed  in  a  stern  and  deep  roar,  yet 
full  of  tenderness  and  love,  the  mating  call  of  the  deer; 
while  from  the  crags  above  came  down  the  short  and 
broken  voice  of  the  mountain  buck.  Among  the  bushes 
frolicked  the  hares  and  often  near  them  a  red  fox  lay 
flattened  to  the  ground  watching  his  chance.  I  never 
heard  any  wolves  and  they  are  usually  not  found  in  the 
Siberian  regions  covered  with  mountains  and  forest. 
But  there  was  another  beast,  who  was  my  neighbor, 

22 


A   DANGEROUS  NEIGHBOR  23 

and  one  of  us  had  to  go  away.  One  day,  coming  back 
from  the  hunt  with  a  big  heathcock,  I  suddenly  noticed 
among  the  trees  a  black,  moving  mass.  I  stopped  and, 
looking  very  attentively,  saw  a  bear,  digging  away  at  an 
ant-hill.  Smelling  me,  he  snorted  violently,  and  very 
quickly  shuffled  away,  astonishing  me  with  the  speed  of 
his  clumsy  gait.  The  following  morning,  while  still  lying 
under  my  overcoat,  I  was  attracted  by  a  noise  behind  my 
den,  I  peered  out  very  carefully  and  discovered  the 
bear.  He  stood  on  his  hind  legs  and  was  noisily  sniffing, 
investigating  the  question  as  to  what  living  creature  had 
adopted  the  custom  of  the  bears  of  housing  during  the 
winter  under  the  trunks  of  fallen  trees.  I  shouted  and 
struck  my  kettle  with  the  ax.  My  early  visitor  made  off 
with  all  his  energy;  but  his  visit  did  not  please  me.  It 
was  very  early  in  the  spring  that  this  occurred  and  the 
bear  should  not  yet  have  left  his  hibernating  place.  He 
was  the  so-called  "ant-eater,"  an  abnormal  type  of  bear 
lacking  in  all  the  etiquette  of  the  first  families  of  the 
bear  clan, 

I  knew  that  the  "ant-eaters"  were  very  irritable  and 
audacious  and  quickly  I  prepared  myself  for  both  the 
defence  and  the  charge.  My  preparations  were  short. 
I  rubbed  off  the  ends  of  five  of  my  cartridges,  thus  mak- 
ing dum-dums  out  of  them,  a  sufficiently  intelligible  argu- 
ment for  so  unwelcome  a  guest.  Putting  on  my  coat  I 
went  to  the  place  where  I  had  first  met  the  bear  and 
where  there  were  many  ant-hills.  I  made  a  deto«r  of 
the  whole  mountain,  looked  in  all  the  ravines  but  no- 
where found  my  caller.  Disappointed  and  tired,  I  was 
approaching  my  shelter  quite  off  my  guard  when  I  sud- 
denly discovered  the  king  of  the  forest  himself  just  com- 


24  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

ing  out  of  my  lowly  dwelling  and  sniffing  all  around 
the  entrance  to  it.  I  shot.  The  bullet  pierced  his  side. 
He  roared  with  pain  and  anger  and  stood  up  on  his  hind 
legs.  As  the  second  bullet  broke  one  of  these,  he  squatted 
down  but  immediately,  dragging  the  leg  and  endeavor- 
ing to  stand  upright,  moved  to  attack  me.  Only  the  third 
bullet  in  his  breast  stopped  him.  He  weighed  about 
two  hundred  to  two  hundred  fifty  pounds,  as  near  as 
I  could  guess,  and  was  very  tasty.  He  appeared  at  his 
best  in  cutlets  but  only  a  little  less  wonderful  in  the 
Hamburg  steaks  which  I  rolled  and  roasted  on  hot 
stones,  watching  them  swell  out  into  great  balls  that  were 
as  light  as  the  finest  souffle  omelettes  we  used  to  have 
at  the  "Medved"  in  Petrograd.  On  this  welcome  addi- 
tion to  my  larder  I  lived  from  then  until  the  ground 
dried  out  and  the  stream  ran  down  enough  so  that  I 
could  travel  down  along  the  river  to  the  country  whither 
Ivan  had  directed  me. 

Ever  traveling  with  the  greatest  precautions  I  made 
the  journey  down  along  the  river  on  foot,  carrying  from 
my  winter  quarters  all  my  household  furniture  and  goods, 
wrapped  up  in  the  deerskin  bag  which  I  formed  by  tying 
the  legs  together  in  an  awkward  knot;  and  thus  laden 
fording  the  small  streams  and  wading  through  the 
swamps  that  lay  across  my  path.  After  fifty  odd  miles 
of  this  I  came  to  the  country  called  Sifkova,  where  I 
found  the  cabin  of  a  peasant  named  Tropoff,  located 
closest  to  the  forest  that  came  to  be  my  natural  environ- 
ment.    With  him  I  lived  for  a  time. 


Now  in  these  unimaginable  surroundings  of  safety  and 


A  DANGEROUS  NEIGHBOR  25 

peace,  summing  up  the  total  of  my  experience  in  the 
Siberian  taiga,  I  make  the  following  deductions.  In 
every  healthy  spiritual  individual  of  our  times,  occasions 
of  necessity  resurrect  the  traits  of  primitive  man,  hunter 
and  warrior,  and  help  him  in  the  struggle  with  nature. 
It  is  the  prerogative  of  the  man  with  the  trained  mind 
and  spirit  over  the  untrained,  who  does  not  possess  suffi- 
cient science  and  will  power  to  carry  him  through.  But 
the  price  that  tlie  cultured  man  must  pay  is  that  for  him 
there  exists  nothing  more  awful  than  absolute  solitude 
and  the  knowledge  of  complete  isolation  from  human 
society  and  the  life  of  moral  and  aesthetic  culture.  One 
step,  one  moment  of  weakness  and  dark  madness  will 
seize  a  man  and  carry  him  to  inevitable  destruction.  I 
spent  awful  days  of  struggle  with  the  cold  and  hunger 
but  I  passed  more  terrible  days  in  the  struggle  of  the 
will  to  kill  weakening  destructive  thoughts.  The 
memories  of  these  days  freeze  my  heart  and  mind  and 
even  now,  as  I  revive  them  so  clearly  by  writing  of 
my  experiences,  they  throw  me  back  into  a  state  of  fear 
and  apprehension.  Moreover,  I  am  compelled  to  observe 
that  the  people  in  highly  civilized  states  give  too  little 
regard  to  the  training  that  is  useful  to  man  in  primitive 
conditions,  in  conditions  incident  to  the  struggle  against 
nature  for  existence.  It  is  the  single  normal  way  to  de- 
velop a  new  generation  of  strong,  healthy,  iron  men, 
with  at  the  same  time  sensitive  souls. 

Nature  destroys  the  weak  but  helps  the  strong,  awaken- 
ing in  the  soul  emotions  which  remain  dormant  under 
the  urban  conditions  of  modern  life. 


CHAPTER  VI 
A  RIVER  IN  TRAVAIL 

MY  presence  in  the  Sifkova  country  was  not  for  long 
but  I  used  it  in  full  measure.  First,  I  sent  a  man 
in  whom  I  had  confidence  and  whom  I  considered  trust- 
worthy to  my  friends  in  the  town  that  I  had  left  and 
received  from  them  linen,  boots,  money  and  a  small  case 
of  first  aid  materials  and  essential  medicines,  and,  what 
was  most  important,  a  passport  in  another  name,  since 
I  was  dead  for  the  Bolsheviki.  Secondly,  in  these  more 
or  less  favorable  conditions  I  reflected  upon  the  plan 
for  my  future  actions.  Soon  in  Sifkova  the  people  heard 
that  the  Bolshevik  commissar  would  come  for  the  requisi- 
tion of  cattle  for  the  Red  Army.  It  was  dangerous  to 
remain  longer.  I  waited  only  until  the  Yenisei  should 
lose  its  massive  lock  of  ice,  which  kept  it  sealed  long 
after  the  small  rivulets  had  opened  and  the  trees  had 
taken  on  their  spring  foliage.  For  one  thousand  roubles 
I  engaged  a  fisherman  who  agreed  to  take  me  fifty-five 
miles  up  the  river  to  an  abandoned  gold  mine  as  soon 
as  the  river,  which  had  then  only  opened  in  places,  should 
be  entirely  clear  of  ice.  At  last  one  morning  I  heard  a 
deafening  roar  like  a  tremendous  cannonade  and  ran 
out  to  find  the  river  had  lifted  its  great  bulk  of  ice  and 
then  given  way  to  break  it  up.  I  rushed  on  down  to 
the  bank,  where  I  witnessed  an  awe-inspiring  but  magnifi- 

26 


A  RIVER  IN  TRAVAIL  27 

cent  scene.  The  river  had  brought  down  the  great  volume 
of  ice  that  had  been  dislodged  in  the  south  and  v^as 
carrying  it  northward  under  the  thick  layer  which  still 
covered  parts  of  the  stream  until  finally  its  weight  had 
broken  the  winter  dam  to  the  north  and  released  the 
whole  grand  mass  in  one  last  rush  for  the  Arctic.  The 
Yenisei,  "Father  Yenisei,"  "Hero  Yenisei,"  is  one  of 
the  longest  rivers  in  Asia,  deep  and  magnificent,  espe- 
cially through  the  middle  range  of  its  course,  where  it 
is  flanked  and  held  in  canon-like  by  great  towering  ranges. 
The  huge  stream  had  brought  down  whole  miles  of  ice 
fields,  breaking  them  up  on  the  rapids  and  on  isolated 
rocks,  twisting  them  with  angry  swirls,  throwing  up  sec- 
tions of  the  black  winter  roads,  carrying  down  the 
tepees  built  for  the  use  of  passing  caravans  which  in  the 
winter  always  go  from  Minnusinsk  to  Krasnoyarsk  on 
tlie  frozen  river.  From  time  to  time  the  stream  stopped 
in  its  flow,  the  roar  began  and  the  great  fields  of  ice 
were  squeezed  and  piled  upward,  sometimes  as  high  as 
thirty  feet,  damming  up  the  water  behind,  so  that  it 
rapidly  rose  and  ran  out  over  the  low  places,  casting 
on  the  shore  great  masses  of  ice.  Then  the  power  of 
the  reinforced  waters  conquered  the  towering  dam  of 
ice  and  carried  it  downward  with  a  sound  like  breaking 
glass.  At  the  bends  in  the  river  and  round  the  great 
rocks  developed  terrifying  chaos.  Huge  blocks  of  ice 
jammed  and  jostled  until  some  were  thrown  clear  into 
the  air,  crashing  against  others  already  there,  or  were 
hurled  against  the  curving  cliffs  and  banks,  tearing  out 
boulders,  earth  and  trees  high  up  tlie  sides.  All  along 
the  low  embankments  this  giant  of  nature  flung  upward 
with  a  suddenness  that  leaves  man  but  a  pigmy  in  force 


28  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

a  great  wall  of  ice  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  high,  which 
the  peasants  call  "Zaberega"  and  through  which  they 
cannot  get  to  the  river  without  cutting  out  a  road.  One 
incredible  feat  I  saw  the  giant  perform,  when  a  block 
many  feet  thick  and  many  yards  square  was  hurled 
through  the  air  and  dropped  to  crush  saplings  and  little 
trees  more  than  a  half  hundred  feet  from  the  bank. 

Watching  this  glorious  withdrawal  of  the  ice,  I  was 
filled  with  terror  and  revolt  at  seeing  the  awful  spoils 
which  the  Yenisei  bore  away  in  this  annual  retreat. 
These  were  the  bodies  of  the  executed  counter-revolu- 
tionaries— officers,  soldiers  and  Cossacks  of  the  former 
army  of  the  Superior  Governor  of  all  anti-Bolshevik 
Russia, 'Admiral  Kolchak.  They  were  the  results  of  the 
bloody  work  of  the  "Qieka"  at  Minnusinsk.  Hundreds 
of  these  bodies  with  heads  and  hands  cut  off,  with 
mutilated  faces  and  bodies  half  burned,  with  broken 
skulls,  floated  and  mingled  with  the  blocks  of  ice,  look- 
ing for  their  graves;  or,  turning  in  the  furious  whirl- 
pools among  the  jagged  blocks,  they  were  ground  and 
torn  to  pieces  into  shapeless  masses,  which  the  river, 
nauseated  with  its  task,  vomited  out  upon  the  islands 
and  projecting  sand  bars.  I  passed  the  whole  length 
of  the  middle  Yenisei  and  constantly  came  across  these 
putrifying  and  terrifying  reminders  of  the  work  of  the 
Bolsheviki.  In  one  place  at  a  turn  of  the  river  I  saw 
a  great  heap  of  horses,  which  had  been  cast  up  by  the 
ice  and  current,  in  number  not  less  than  three  hundred. 
A  verst  below  there  I  was  sickened  beyond  endurance 
by  the  discovery  of  a  grove  of  willows  along  the  bank 
which  had  raked  from  the  polluted  stream  and  held  in 
their  finger-like  drooping  branches  human  bodies  in  all 


A  RIVER  IN  TRAVAIL  29 

shapes  and  attitudes  with  a  semblance  of  naturalness 
which  made  an  everlasting  picture  on  my  distraught 
mind.  Of  this  pitiful  gruesome  company  I  counted 
seventy. 

At  last  the  mountain  of  ice  passed  by,  followed  by 
the  muddy  freshets  that  carried  down  the  trunks  of 
fallen  trees,  logs  and  bodies,  bodies,  bodies.  The  fisher- 
man and  his  son  put  me  and  my  luggage  into  their  dug- 
out made  from  an  aspen  tree  and  poled  upstream  along 
the  bank.  Poling  in  a  swift  current  is  very  hard  work. 
At  the  sharp  curves  we  were  compelled  to  row,  struggling 
against  the  force  of  the  stream  and  even  in  places  hugging 
the  cliffs  and  making  headway  only  by  clutching  the 
rocks  with  our  hands  and  dragging  along  slowly.  Some- 
times it  took  us  a  long  while  to  do  five  or  six  metres 
through  these  rapid  holes.  In  two  days  we  reached  the 
goal  of  our  journey.  I  spent  several  days  in  this  gold 
mine,  where  the  watchman  and  his  family  were  living. 
As  they  were  short  of  food,  they  had  nothing  to  spare 
for  me  and  consequently  my  rifle  again  served  to  nourish 
me,  as  well  as  contributing  something  to  my  hosts.  One 
day  there  appeared  here  a  trained  agriculturalist.  I  did 
not  hide  because  during  my  winter  in  the  woods  I  had 
raised  a  heavy  beard,  so  that  probably  my  own  mother 
could  not  have  recognized  me.  However,  our  guest  was 
very  shrewd  and  at  once  deciphered  me.  I  did  not  fear 
him  because  I  saw  that  he  was  not  a  Bolshevik  and 
later  had  confirmation  of  this.  We  found  common 
acquaintances  and  a  common  viewpoint  on  current  events. 
He  lived  close  to  the  gold  mine  in  a  small  village  where 
he  superintended  public  works.  We  determined  to  escape 
together  from  Russia.     For  a  long  time  I  had  puzzled 


30  BEASTS,   MEN   AND   GODS 

over  this  matter  and  now  my  plan  was  ready.  Know- 
ing the  position  in  Siberia  and  its  geography,  I  decided 
that  the  best  way  to  safety  was  through  Urianhai,  the 
northern  part  of  Mongolia  on  the  head  waters  of  the 
Yenisei,  then  through  Mongolia  and  out  to  the  Far  East 
and  the  Pacific.  Before  the  overthrow  of  the  Kolchak 
Government  I  had  received  a  commission  to  investigate 
Urianhai  and  Western  Mongolia  and  then,  with  great 
accuracy,  I  studied  all  the  maps  and  literature  I  could  get 
on  this  question.  To  accomplish  this  audacious  plan  I 
had  the  great  incentive  of  my  own  safety. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THROUGH  SOVIET  SIBERIA 

AFTER  several  days  we  started  through  the  forest  on 
•^  *•  the  left  bank  of  the  Yenisei  toward  the  south,  avoids 
ing  the  villages  as  much  as  possible  in  fear  of  leaving 
some  trail  by  which  we  might  be  followed.  Whenever 
we  did  have  to  go  into  them,  we  had  a  good  reception 
at  the  hands  of  the  peasants,  who  did  not  penetrate  our 
disguise ;  and  we  saw  that  they  hated  the  Bolsheviki,  who 
had  destroyed  many  of  their  villages.  In  one  place  we 
were  told  that  a  detachment  of  Red  troops  had  been  sent 
out  from  Minnusinsk  to  chase  the  Whites.  We  were 
forced  to  work  far  back  from  the  shore  of  the  Yenisei 
and  to  hide  in  the  woods  and  mountains.  Here  we  re- 
mained nearly  a  fortnight,  because  all  this  time  the  Red 
soldiers  were  traversing  the  country  and  capturing  in  the 
woods  half-dressed  unarmed  officers  who  were  in  hiding 
from  the  atrocious  vengeance  of  the  Bolsheviki.  After- 
wards by  accident  we  passed  a  meadow  where  we  found 
the  bodies  of  twenty-eight  officers  hung  to  the  trees,  with 
their  faces  and  bodies  mutilated.  There  we  determined 
never  to  allow  ourselves  to  come  alive  into  the  hands 
of  the  Bolsheviki.  To  prevent  this  we  had  our  weapons 
and  a  supply  of  cyanide  of  potassium. 

Passing  across  one  branch  of  the  Yenisei,  once  we  saw 
a  narrow,  miry  pass,  the  entrance  to  which  was  strewn 

31 


32  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

with  the  bodies  of  men  and  horses.  A  little  farther 
along  we  found  a  broken  sleigh  with  rifled  boxes  and 
papers  scattered  about.  Near  them  were  also  torn  gar- 
ments and  bodies.  Who  were  these  pitiful  ones  ?  What 
tragedy  was  staged  in  this  wild  wood?  We  tried  to 
guess  this  enigma  and  we  began  to  investigate  the  docu- 
ments and  papers.  These  were  official  papers  addressed 
to  the  Staff  of  General  Pepelaieff.  Probably  one  part 
of  the  Staff  during  the  retreat  of  Kolchak's  army  went 
through  this  wood,  striving  to  hide  from  the  enemy 
approaching  from  all  sides;  but  here  they  were  caught 
by  the  Reds  and  killed.  Not  far  from  here  we  found 
the  body  of  a  poor  unfortunate  woman,  whose  condition 
proved  clearly  what  had  happened  before  relief  came 
through  the  beneficent  bullet.  The  body  lay  beside  a 
shelter  of  branches,  strewn  with  bottles  and  conserve 
tins,  telling  the  tale  of  the  bantering  feast  that  had 
preceded  the  destruction  of  this  life. 

The  further  we  went  to  the  south,  the  more  pro- 
nouncedly hospitable  the  people  became  toward  us  and 
the  more  hostile  to  the  Bolsheviki.  At  last  we  emerged 
from  the  forests  and  entered  the  spacious  vastness  of 
the  Minnusinsk  steppes,  crossed  by  the  high  red  moun- 
tain range  called  the  "Kizill-Kaiya"  and  dotted  here  and 
^here  with  salt  lakes.  It  is  a  country  of  tombs,  thousands 
of  large  and  small  dolmens,  the  tombs  of  the  earliest 
proprietors  of  this  land:  pyramids  of  stone  ten  metres 
high,  the  marks  set  by  Jenghiz  Khan  along  his  road  of 
conquest  and  afterwards  by  the  cripple  Tamerlane- 
Temur.  Thousands  of  these  dolmens  and  stone  pyramids 
stretch  in  endless  rows  to  the  north.  In  these  plains  the 
Tartars  now  live.     They  were  robbed  by  the  Bolsheviki 


THROUGH  SOVIET  SIBERIA  33 

and  therefore  hated  them  ardently.  We  openly  told 
them  that  we  were  escaping.  They  gave  us  food  for 
nothing  and  supplied  us  with  guides,  telling  us  with  whom 
we  might  stop  and  where  to  hide  in  case  of  danger. 

After  several  days  we  looked  down  from  the  high 
bank  of  the  Yenisei  upon  the  first  steamer,  the  "Oriol," 
from  Krasnoyarsk  to  Minnusinsk,  laden  with  Red 
soldiers.  Soon  we  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Tuba, 
which  we  were  to  follow  straight  east  to  the  Sayan  moun- 
tains, where  Urianhai  begins.  We  thought  the  stage  along 
the  Tuba  and  its  branch,  the  Amyl,  the  most  dangerous 
part  of  our  course,  because  the  valleys  of  these  two  rivers 
had  a  dense  population  which  had  contributed  large  num- 
bers of  soldiers  to  the  celebrated  Communist  Partisans, 
Schetinkin  and  Krafcheno. 

A  Tartar  ferried  us  and  our  horses  over  to  the  right 
bank  of  the  Yenisei  and  afterwards  sent  us  some 
Cossacks  at  daybreak  who  guided  us  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Tuba,  where  we  spent  the  whole  day  in  rest,  gratify- 
ing ourselves  with  a  feast  of  wild  black  currants  and 
cherries. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THREE  DAYS  ON  THE  EDGE  OF  A  PRECIPICE 

A  RMED  with  our  false  passports,  we  moved  along  up 
"^  *■  the  valley  of  the  Tuba.  Every  ten  or  fifteen  vcrsts 
we  came  across  large  villages  of  from  one  to  six  hun- 
dred houses,  where  all  administration  was  in  the  hands 
of  Soviets  and  where  spies  scrutinized  all  passers-by.  We 
could  not  avoid  these  villages  for  two  reasons.  First, 
our  attempts  to  avoid  them  when  we  were  constantly 
meeting  the  peasants  in  the  country  would  have  aroused 
suspicion  and  would  have  caused  any  Soviet  to  arrest 
us  and  send  us  to  the  "Cheka"  in  Minnusinsk,  where  we 
should  have  sung  our  last  song.  Secondly,  in  his  docu- 
ments my  fellow  traveler  was  granted  permission  to  use 
the  government  post  relays  for  forwarding  him  on  his 
journey.  Therefore,  we  were  forced  to  visit  the  village 
Soviets  and  change  our  horses.  Our  own  mounts  we 
had  given  to  the  Tartar  and  Cossack  who  helped  us  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Tuba,  and  the  Cossack  brought  us 
in  his  wagon  to  the  first  village,  where  we  received  the 
post  horses.  All  except  a  small  minority  of  tlie  peasants 
were  against  the  Bolsheviki  and  voluntarily  assisted  us. 
I  paid  them  for  their  help  by  treating  their  sick  and  my 
fellow  traveler  gave  them  practical  advice  in  the  manage- 
ment of  their  agriculture.  Those  who  helped  us  chiefly 
were  the  old  dissenters  and  the  Cossacks. 

34 


THREE   DAYS   ON  EDGE   OF  PRECIPICE      35 

Sometimes  we  came  across  villages  entirely  Com- 
munistic but  very  soon  we  learned  to  distinguish  them. 
When  we  entered  a  village  with  our  horse  bells  tinkling 
and  found  the  peasants  who  happened  to  be  sitting  in 
front  of  their  houses  ready  to  get  up  with  a  frown  and 
a  grumble  that  here  were  more  new  devils  coming,  we 
knew  that  this  was  a  village  opposed  to  the  Communists 
and  that  here  we  could  stop  in  safety.  But,  if  the 
peasants  approached  and  greeted  us  with  pleasure,  call- 
ing us  "Comrades,"  we  knew  at  once  that  we  were  among 
the  enemy  and  took  great  precautions.  Such  villages 
were  inhabited  by  people  who  were  not  the  Siberian 
liberty-loving  peasants  but  by  emigrants  from  the 
Ukraine,  idle  and  drunk,  living  in  poor  dirty  huts,  though 
their  village  were  surrounded  with  the  black  and  fertile 
soil  of  the  steppes.  Very  dangerous  and  pleasant 
moments  we  spent  in  the  large  village  of  Karatuz.  It 
is  rather  a  town.  In  the  year  191 2  two  colleges  were 
opened  here  and  the  population  reached  15,000  people. 
It  is  the  capital  of  the  South  Yenisei  Cossacks.  But 
by  now  it  is  very  difficult  to  recognize  this  town.  The 
peasant  emigrants  and  Red  army  murdered  all  the 
Cossack  population  and  destroyed  and  burned  most  of 
the  houses ;  and  it  is  at  present  the  center  of  Bolshevism 
and  Communism  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Minnusinsk 
district.  In  the  building  of  the  Soviet,  where  we  came 
to  exchange  our  horses,  there  was  being  held  a  meeting 
of  the  "Cheka."  We  were  immediately  surrounded  and 
questioned  about  our  documents.  We  were  not  any  too 
calm  about  the  impression  which  might  be  made  by  our 
papers  and  attempted  to  avoid  this  examination.  My 
fellow  traveler  afterwards  often  said  to  me: 


36  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

"It  is  great  good  fortune  that  among  the  Bolsheviki 
the  good-for-nothing  shoemaker  of  yesterday  is  the  Gov- 
ernor of  today  and  scientists  sweep  the  streets  or  clean 
the  stables  of  the  Red  cavalry.  I  can  talk  v^ith  the 
Bolsheviki  because  they  do  not  know  the  difference  be- 
tween 'disinfection'  and  'diphtheria/  'anthracite'  and 
'appendicitis'  and  can  talk  them  round  in  all  things,  even 
up  to  persuading  them  not  to  put  a  bullet  into  me." 

And  so  we  talked  the  members  of  the  "Cheka"  roimd 
to  everything  that  we  wanted.  We  presented  to  them 
a  bright  scheme  for  the  future  development  of  their  dis- 
trict, when  we  would  build  the  roads  and  bridges  which 
would  allow  them  to  export  the  wood  from  Urianhai, 
iron  and  gold  from  the  Sayan  Mountains,  cattle  and 
furs  from  Mongolia.  What  a  triumph  of  creative  work 
for  the  Soviet  Government!  Our  ode  occupied  about 
an  hour  and  afterwards  the  members  of  the  "Cheka," 
forgetting  about  our  documents,  personally  changed  our 
horses,  placed  our  luggage  on  the  wagon  and  wished  us 
success.  It  was  the  last  ordeal  within  the  borders  of 
Russia. 

When  we  had  crossed  the  valley  of  the  river  Amyl, 
Happiness  smiled  on  us.  Near  the  ferry  we  met  a  mem- 
ber of  the  militia  from  Karatuz.  He  had  on  his  wagon 
several  rifles  and  automatic  pistols,  mostly  Mausers,  for 
outfitting  an  expedition  through  Urianhai  in  quest  of 
some  Cossack  officers  who  had  been  greatly  troubling 
the  Bolsheviki.  We  stood  upon  our  guard.  We  could 
very  easily  have  met  this  expedition  and  we  were  not 
quite  assured  that  the  soldiers  would  be  so  appreciative 
of  our  high-sounding  phrases  as  were  the  members  of 
the  "Cheka."     Carefully  questioning  the  militiaman,  we 


THREE   DAYS   ON   EDGE   OF   PRECIPICE      37 

ferreted  out  the  route  their  expedition  was  to  take.  In 
the  next  village  we  stayed  in  the  same  house  with  him. 
I  had  to  open  my  luggage  and  suddenly  I  noticed  his 
admiring  glance  fixed  upon  my  bag. 

"What  pleases  you  so  much?"     I  asked. 
He  whispered :     "Trousers  .  .  .  Trousers." 
I  had  received  from  my  townsmen  quite  new  trousers 
of  black  thick  cloth  for  riding.    Those  trousers  attracted 
the  rapt  attention  of  the  militiaman. 

"If  you  have  no  other  trousers.  ..."  I  remarked, 
reflecting  upon  my  plan  of  attack  against  my  new  friend. 
"No,"  he  explained  with  sadness,  "the  Soviet  does 
not  furnish  trousers.  They  tell  me  they  also  go  with- 
out trousers.  And  my  trousers  are  absolutely  worn  out. 
Look  at  them." 

With  these  words  he  threw  back  the  comer  of  his 
overcoat  and  I  was  astonished  how  he  could  keep  him- 
self inside  these  trousers,  for  they  had  such  large  holes 
that  they  were  more  of  a  net  than  trousers,  a  net  through 
which  a  small  shark  could  have  slipped. 

"Sell  me,"  he  whispered,  with  a  question  in  his  voice. 
"I   cannot,    for   I   need    them    myself,"    I    answered 
decisively. 

He  reflected  for  a  few  minutes  and  afterward, 
approaching  me,  said:  "Let  us  go  out  doors  and  talk. 
Here  it  is  inconvenient." 

We  went  outside.  "Now,  what  about  it?"  he  began. 
"You  are  going  into  Urianhai.  There  the  Soviet  bank- 
notes have  no  value  and  you  will  not  be  able  to  buy 
anything,  where  there  are  plenty  of  sables,  fox-skins, 
ermine  and  gold  dust  to  be  purchased,  which  they  very 
willingly  exchange  for  rifles  and  cartridges.     You  have 


38  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

each  of  you  a  rifle  and  I  will  give  you  one  more  rifle 
with  a  hundred  cartridges  if  you  give  me  the  trousers." 

"We  do  not  need  weapons.  We  are  protected  by  our 
documents,"  I  answered,  as  though  I  did  not  understand. 

"But  no,"  he  interrupted,  "you  can  change  that  rifle 
there  into  furs  and  gold.  I  shall  give  you  that  rifle  out- 
right." 

"Ah,  that's  it,  is  it?  But  it's  very  little  for  those 
trousers.  Nowhere  in  Russia  can  you  now  find  trousers. 
All  Russia  goes  without  trousers  and  for  your  rifle  I 
should  receive  a  sable  and  what  use  to  me  is  one  skin?" 

Word  by  word  I  attained  to  my  desire.  The  militia- 
man got  my  trousers  and  I  received  a  rifle  with  one 
hundred  cartridges  and  two  automatic  pistols  with  forty 
cartridges  each.  We  were  armed  now  so  that  we  could 
defend  ourselves.  Moreover,  I  persuaded  the  happy 
possessor  of  my  trousers  to  give  us  a  permit  to  carry 
the  weapons.  Then  the  law  and  force  were  both  on 
our  side. 

In  a  distant  village  we  bought  three  horses,  two  for 
riding  and  one  for  packing,  engaged  a  guide,  purchased 
dried  bread,  meat,  salt  and  butter  and,  after  resting 
twenty-four  hours,  began  our  trip  up  the  Amyl  toward 
the  Sayan  Mountains  on  the  border  of  Urianhai.  There 
we  hoped  not  to  meet  Bolsheviki,  either  sly  or  silly.  In 
three  days  from  the  mouth  of  the  Tuba  we  passed  the 
last  Russian  village  near  the  Mongolian-Urianhai  border, 
three  days  of  constant  contact  with  a  lawless  population, 
of  continuous  danger  and  of  the  ever  present  possibility 
of  fortuitous  death.  Only  iron  will  power,  presence 
of  mind  and  dogged  tenacity  brought  us  through  all 
the  dangers  and  saved  us  from  rolling  back  down  our 


THREE   DAYS  ON  EDGE  OF   PRECIPICE      39 

precipice  of  adventure,  at  whose  foot  lay  so  many  others 
who  had  failed  to  make  this  same  climb  to  freedom 
which  we  had  just  accomplished.  Perhaps  they  lacked 
the  persistence  or  the  presence  of  mind,  perhaps  they 
had  not  the  poetic  ability  to  sing  odes  about  "roads, 
bridg-es  and  gold  mines"  or  perhaps  they  simply  had 
no  spare  trousers. 


CHAPTER  IX 

TO  THE  SAYANS  AND  SAFETY 

TP\  ENSE  virgin  wood  surrounded  us.  In  the  high, 
■*-^  already  yellow  grass  the  trail  wound  hardly  notice- 
able in  among  bushes  and  trees  just  beginning  to  drop 
their  many  colored  leaves.  It  is  the  old,  already  forgot- 
ten Amyl  pass  road.  Twenty-five  years  ago  it  carried 
the  provisions,  machinery  and  workers  for  the  num- 
erous, now  abandoned,  gold  mines  of  the  Amyl  valley. 
The  road  now  wound  along  the  wide  and  rapid  Amyl, 
then  penetrated  into  the  deep  forest,  guiding  us  round 
the  swampy  ground  filled  with  those  dangerous  Siberian 
quagmires,  through  the  dense  bushes,  across  mountains 
and  wide  meadows.  Our  guide  probably  did  not  surmise 
our  real  intention  and  sometimes,  apprehensively  look- 
ing down  at  the  ground,  would  say : 

"Three  riders  on  horses  with  shoes  on  have  passed 
here.     Perhaps  they  were  soldiers." 

His  anxiety  was  tenninated  when  he  discovered  that 
the  tracks  led  off  to  one  side  and  then  returned  to  the 
trail. 

"They  did  not  proceed  farther,"  he  remarked,  slyly 
smiling. 

"That's  too  bad,"  we  answered.  "It  would  have  been 
more  lively  to  travel  in  company." 

40 


TO  THE  SAYANS  AND  SAFETY      41 

But  the  peasant  only  stroked  his  beard  and  laughed. 
Evidently  he  was  not  taken  in  by  our  statement. 

We  passed  on  the  way  a  gold  mine  that  had  been 
formerly  planned  and  equipped  on  splendid  lines  but 
was  now  abandoned  and  the  buildings  all  destroyed.  The 
Bolsheviki  had  taken  away  the  machinery,  supplies  and 
also  some  parts  of  the  buildings.  Nearby  stood  a  dark 
and  gloomy  church  with  windows  broken,  the  crucifix 
torn  off  and  the  tower  burned,  a  pitifully  typical  emblem 
of  the  Russia  of  today.  The  starving  family  of  the  watch- 
man lived  at  the  mine  in  continuing  danger  and  priva- 
tion. They  told  us  that  in  this  forest  region  were 
wandering  about  a  band  of  Reds  who  were  robbing  any- 
thing that  remained  on  the  property  of  the  gold  mine, 
were  working  the  pay  dirt  in  the  richest  part  of  the 
mine  and,  with  a  little  gold  washed,  were  going  to  drink 
and  gamble  it  away  in  some  distant  villages  where  the 
peasants  were  making  the  forbidden  vodka  out  of 
berries  and  potatoes  and  selling  it  for  its  weight  in  gold. 
A  meeting  with  this  band  meant  death.  After  three 
days  we  crossed  the  northern  ridge  of  the  Sayan  chain, 
passed  the  border  river  Algiak  and,  after  tliis  day,  were 
abroad  in  the  territory  of  Urianhai. 

This  wonderful  land,  rich  in  most  diverse  forms  of 
natural  wealth,  is  inhabited  by  a  branch  of  the  Mongols, 
which  is  now  only  sixty  thousand  and  which  is  gradually 
dying  off,  speaking  a  language  quite  different  from  any 
of  the  other  dialects  of  this  folk  and  holding  as  their 
life  ideal  the  tenet  of  "Eternal  Peace."  Urianhai  long 
ago  became  the  scene  of  administrative  attempts  by 
Russians,  Mongols  and  Qiinese,  all  of  whom  claimed 
sovereignty    over    the    region    whose    unfortunate    in- 


42  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

habitants,  the  Soyots,  had  to  pay  tribute  to  all  three  of 
these  overlords.  It  was  due  to  this  that  the  land  was 
not  an  entirely  safe  refuge  for  us.  We  had  heard  already 
from  our  militiaman  about  the  expedition  preparing  to 
go  into  Urianhai  and  from  the  peasants  we  learned  that 
the  villages  along  the  Little  Yenisei  and  farther  south 
had  formed  Red  detachments,  who  were  robbing  and 
killing  everyone  who  fell  into  their  hands.  Recently 
they  had  killed  sixty-two  officers  attempting  to  pass 
Urianhai  into  Mongolia;  robbed  and  killed  a  caravan 
of  Chinese  merchants;  and  killed  some  German  war 
prisoners  who  escaped  from  the  Soviet  paradise.  On 
the  fourth  day  we  reached  a  swampy  valley  where,  among 
open  forests,  stood  a  single  Russian  house.  Here  we 
took  leave  of  our  guide,  who  hastened  away  to  get  back 
before  the  snows  should  block  his  road  over  the  Sayans. 
The  master  of  the  establishment  agreed  to  guide  us  to 
the  Seybi  River  for  ten  thousand  roubles  in  Soviet  notes. 
Our  horses  were  tired  and  we  were  forced  to  give  them 
a  rest,  so  we  decided  to  spend  twenty-four  hours  here. 

We  were  drinking  tea  when  the  daughter  of  our  host 
cried: 

"The  Soyots  are  coming!"  Into  the  room  with  their 
rifles  and  pointed  hats  came  suddenly  four  of  them. 

"Mende,"  they  grunted  to  us  and  then,  without 
ceremony,  began  examining  us  critically.  Not  a  button 
or  a  seam  in  our  entire  outfit  escaped  tlieir  penetrating 
gaze.  Afterwards  one  of  them,  who  appeared  to  be  the 
local  "Merin"  or  governor,  began  to  investigate  our 
political  views.  Listening  to  our  criticisms  of  the 
Bolsheviki,  he  was  evidently  pleased  and  began  talking 
freely. 


TO  THESAYANS  AND  SAFETY  43 

"You  are  good  people.  You  do  not  like  Bolsheviki. 
We  will  help  you." 

I  thanked  him  and  presented  him  with  the  thick  silk 
cord  which  I  was  wearing  as  a  girdle.  Before  night 
they  left  us  saying  that  they  would  return  in  the  morn- 
ing. It  grew  dark.  We  went  to  the  meadow  to  look 
after  our  exhausted  horses  grazing  there  and  came  back 
to  the  house.  We  were  gaily  chatting  with  the  hospitable 
host  when  suddenly  we  heard  horses'  hoofs  in  the  court 
and  raucous  voices,  followed  by  the  immediate  entry 
of  five  Red  soldiers  armed  with  rifles  and  swords.  Some- 
thing unpleasant  and  cold  rolled  up  into  my  throat  and 
my  heart  hammered.  We  knew  the  Reds  as  our  enemies. 
These  men  had  the  red  stars  on  their  Astrakhan  caps 
and  red  triangles  on  their  sleeves.  They  were  members 
of  the  detachment  that  was  out  to  look  for  Cossack  offi- 
cers. Scowling  at  us  they  took  off  their  overcoats  and 
sat  down.  We  first  opened  the  conversation,  explaining 
the  purpose  of  our  journey  in  exploring  for  bridges,  roads 
and  gold  mines.  From  them  we  then  learned  that  their 
commander  would  arrive  in  a  little  while  with  seven 
more  men  and  that  they  would  take  our  host  at  once 
as  a  guide  to  the  Seybi  River,  where  they  tliought  the 
Cossack  officers  must  be  hidden.  Immediately  I  re- 
marked that  our  affairs  were  moving  fortimately  and 
that  we  must  travel  along  together.  One  of  the  soldiers 
replied  that  tliat  would  depend  upon  the  "Comrade- 
officer." 

During  our  conversation  the  Soyot  Governor  entered. 
Very  attentively  he  studied  again  the  new  arrivals  and 
then  asked:  "Why  did  you  take  from  the  Soyots  the 
good  horses  and  leave  bad  ones?" 


44  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

The  soldiers  laughed  at  him. 

"Remember  that  you  are  in  a  foreign  country!"  an- 
swered the  Soyot,  with  a  threat  in  his  voice. 

"God  and  the  Devil!"  cried  one  of  the  soldiers. 

But  the  Soyot  very  calmly  took  a  seat  at  the  table 
and  accepted  the  cup  of  tea  the  hostess  was  preparing 
for  him.  The  conversation  ceased.  The  Soyot  finished 
the  tea,  smoked  his  long  pipe  and,  standing  up,  said: 

'Tf  tomorrow  morning  the  horses  are  not  back  at  the 
owner's,  we  shall  come  and  take  them."  And  with  these 
words  he  turned  and  went  out. 

I  noticed  an  expression  of  apprehension  on  the  faces 
of  the  soldiers.  Shortly  one  was  sent  out  as  a  messenger 
while  the  others  sat  silent  with  bowed  heads.  Late  in 
the  night  the  officer  arrived  with  his  other  seven  men. 
As  he  received  the  report  about  the  Soyot,  he  knitted 
his  brows  and  said: 

"It's  a  bad  mess.  We  must  travel  through  the  swamp 
where  a  Soyot  will  be  behind  every  mound  watching 
us." 

He  seemed  really  very  anxious  and  his  trouble  for- 
tunately prevented  him  from  paying  much  attention  to 
us.  I  began  to  calm  him  and  promised  on  the  morrow 
to  arrange  this  matter  with  the  Soyots.  The  officer  was 
a  coarse  brute  and  a  silly  man,  desiring  strongly  to  be 
promoted  for  the  capture  of  the  Cossack  officers,  and 
feared  that  the  Soyot  could  prevent  him  from  reaching 
the  Seybi. 

At  daybreak  we  started  together  with  the  Red  detach- 
ment. When  we  had  made  about  fifteen  kilometers,  we 
discovered  behind  the  bushes  two  riders.  They  were 
Soyots.     On  their  backs  were  their  flint  rifles.  * 


TO  THE  SAYANS  AND   SAFETY  45 

"Wait  for  me!"  I  said  to  the  officer.  "I  shall  go 
for  a  parley  with  them." 

I  went  forward  with  all  the  speed  of  my  horse.  One 
of  the  horsemen  was  the  Soyot  Governor,  who  said  to 
me: 

"Remain  behind  the  detachment  and  help  us." 

"All  right,"  I  answered,  "but  let  us  talk  a  little,  in 
order  that  they  may  think  we  are  parleying." 

After  a  moment  I  shook  the  hand  of  the  Soyot  and 
returned  to  the  soldiers. 

"All  right,"  I  exclaimed,  "we  can  continue  our  journey. 
No  hindrance  will  come  from  the  Soyots." 

We  moved  forward  and,  when  we  were  crossing  a 
large  meadow,  we  espied  at  a  long  distance  two  Soyots 
riding  at  full  gallop  right  up  the  side  of  a  mountain. 
Step  by  step  I  accomplished  the  necessary  manoeuvre  to 
bring  me  and  my  fellow  traveler  somewhat  behind  the 
detachment.  Behind  our  backs  remained  only  one  soldier, 
very  brutish  in  appearance  and  apparently  very  hostile 
to  us.  I  had  time  to  whisper  to  my  companion  only 
one  word:  "Mauser,"  and  saw  that  he  very  carefully 
unbuttoned  the  saddle  bag  and  drew  out  a  little  the  handle 
of  his  pistol. 

Soon  I  understood  why  these  aoldiers,  excellent  woods- 
men as  they  were,  would  not  attempt  to  go  to  the  Seybi 
without  a  guide.  All  the  country  between  the  Algiak 
and  the  Seybi  is  formed  by  high  and  narrow  mountain 
ridges  separated  by  deep  swampy  valleys.  It  is  a  cursed 
and  dangerous  place.  At  first  our  horses  mired  to  the 
knees,  lunging  about  and  catching  their  feet  in  the  roots 
of  bushes  in  the  quagmires,  then  falling  and  pinning 
us  under  their  sides,  breaking  parts  of  their  saddles  and 


46  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

bridles.  Then  we  would  go  in  up  to  the  riders'  knees. 
My  horse  went  down  once  with  his  whole  breast  and 
head  under  the  red  fluid  mud  and  we  just  saved  it  and 
no  more.  Afterwards  the  officer's  horse  fell  with  him 
so  that  he  bruised  his  head  on  a  stone.  My  companion 
injured  one  knee  against  a  tree.  Some  of  the  men  also 
fell  and  were  injured.  The  horses  breathed  heavily. 
Somewhere  dimly  and  gloomily  a  crow  cawed.  Later 
the  road  became  worse  still.  The  trail  followed  through 
the  same  miry  swamp  but  everywhere  the  road  was 
blocked  with  fallen  tree  trunks.  The  horses,  jumping 
over  the  trunks,  would  land  in  an  unexpectedly  deep 
hole  and  flounder.  We  and  all  the  soldiers  were  covered 
with  blood  and  mud  and  were  in  great  fear  of  exhaust- 
ing our  mounts.  For  a  long  distance  we  had  to  get 
down  and  lead  them.  At  last  we  entered  a  broad  meadow 
covered  with  bushes  and  bordered  with  rocks.  Not  only 
horses  but  riders  also  began  to  sink  to  their  middle  in 
a  quagmire  with  apparently  no  bottom.  The  whole  sur- 
face of  the  meadow  was  but  a  thin  layer  of  turf,  cover- 
ing a  lake  with  black  putrefying  water.  When  we  finally 
learned  to  open  our  column  and  proceed  at  big  intervals, 
we  found  we  could  keep  on  this  surface  that  undulated 
like  rubber  ice  and  swayed  the  bushes  up  and  down.  In 
places  the  earth  buckled  up  and  broke. 

Suddenly,  three  shots  sounded.  They  were  hardly 
more  than  the  report  of  a  Flobert  rifle;  but  they  v/ere 
genuine  shots,  because  the  officer  and  two  soldiers  fell 
to  the  ground.  The  other  soldiers  grabbed  their  rifles 
and,  with  fear,  looked  about  for  the  enemy.  Four  more 
were  soon  unseated  and  suddenly  I  noticed  our  rearguard 
brute  raise  his  rifle  and  aim  right  at  me.     However,  my 


TO  THE  SAYANS  AND  SAFETY  47 

Mauser  outstrode  his  rifle  and  I  was  allowed  to  continue 
my  story. 

"Begin!"  I  cried  to  my  friend  and  we  took  part  in 
the  shooting.  Soon  the  meadow  began  to  swarm  with 
Soyots,  stripping  the  fallen,  dividing  the  spoils  and  re- 
capturing their  horses.  In  some  forms  of  warfare  it 
is  never  safe  to  leave  any  of  the  enemy  to  renew  hostili- 
ties later  with  overwhelming  forces. 

After  an  hour  of  very  difficult  road  we  began  to 
ascend  the  mountain  and  soon  arrived  on  a  high  plateau 
covered  with  trees. 

"After  all,  Soyots  are  not  a  too  peaceful  people,"  I 
remarked,  approaching  the  Governor. 

He  looked  at  me  very  sharply  and  replied: 
"It  was  not  Soyots  who  did  the  killing." 
He  was  right.  It  was  the  Abakan  Tartars  in  Soyot 
clothes  who  killed  the  Bolsheviki.  These  Tartars  were 
running  their  herds  of  cattle  and  horses  down  out  of 
Russia  through  Urianhai  to  Mongolia.  They  had  as 
their  guide  and  negotiator  a  Kalmuck  Lamaite.  The 
following  morning  we  were  approaching  a  small  settle- 
ment of  Russian  colonists  and  noticed  some  horsemen 
looking  out  from  the  woods.  One  of  our  young  and 
brave  Tartars  galloped  off  at  full  speed  toward  these 
men  in  the  wood  but  soon  wheeled  and  returned  with 
a  reassuring  smile. 

"All  right,"  he  exclaimed,  laughing,  "keep  right  on." 
We  continued  our  travel  on  a  good  broad  road  along 
a  high  wooden  fence  surrounding  a  meadow  filled  with 
a  fine  herd  of  wapiti  or  iziihr,  which  the  Russian  colonists 
breed  for  the  horns  that  are  so  valuable  in  the  velvet 
for  sale  to  Tibetan  and  Chinese  medicine  dealers.    These 


48  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

horns,  when  boiled  and  dried,  are  called  panti  and  are 
sold  to  the  Chinese  at  very  high  prices. 

We  were  received  with  great  fear  by  the  settlers. 

"Thank  God !"  exclaimed  the  hostess,  "we  thought 
..."  and  she  broke  off,  looking  at  her  husband. 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  BATTLE  ON  THE  SEYBI 

CONSTANT  dangers  develop  one's  watchfulness  and 
keenness  of  perception.  We  did  not  take  off  our 
clothes  nor  unsaddle  our  horses,  tired  as  we  were.  I  put 
my  Mauser  inside  my  coat  and  began  to  look  about  and 
scrutinize  the  people.  The  first  thing  I  discovered  was 
the  butt  end  of  a  rifle  under  the  pile  of  pillows  always 
found  on  the  peasants'  large  beds.  Later  I  noticed  the 
employees  of  our  host  constantly  coming  into  the  room 
for  orders  from  him.  They  did  not  look  like  simple 
peasants,  although  they  had  long  beards  and  were  dressed 
very  dirtily.  They  examined  me  with  very  attentive 
eyes  and  did  not  leave  me  and  my  friend  alone  with  the 
host.  We  could  not,  however,  make  out  anything.  But 
then  the  Soyot  Governor  came  in  and,  noticing  our 
strained  relations,  began  explaining  in  the  Soyot  language 
to  the  host  all  about  us. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  the  colonist  said,  "but  you  know 
yourself  that  now  for  one  honest  man  we  have  ten  thou- 
sand murderers  and  robbers." 

With  this  we  began  chatting  more  freely.  It  appeared 
that  our  host  knew  that  a  band  of  Bolsheviki  would 
attack  him  in  the  search  for  the  band  of  Cossack  officers 
who  were  living  in  his  house  on  and  off.  He  had  heard 
also  about  the  "total  loss"  of  one  detachment.     How- 

49 


50  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

ever,  it  did  not  entirely  calm  the  old  man  to  have  our 
news,  for  he  had  heard  of  the  large  detachment  of  Reds 
that  was  coming  from  the  border  of  the  Usinsky  District 
in  pursuit  of  the  Tartars  who  were  escaping  with  their 
cattle  south  to  Mongolia. 

"From  one  minute  to  another  we  are  awaiting  them 
with  fear,"  said  our  host  to  me.  "My  Soyot  has  come 
in  and  announced  that  the  Reds  are  already  crossing  the 
Seybi  and  the  Tartars  are  prepared  for  the  fight." 

We  immediately  went  out  to  look  over  our  saddles 
and  packs  and  then  took  the  horses  and  hid  them  in 
the  bushes  not  far  off.  We  made  ready  our  rifles  and 
pistols  and  took  posts  in  the  enclosure  to  wait  for  our 
common  enemy.  An  hour  of  trying  impatience  passed, 
when  one  of  the  workmen  came  running  in  from  the 
wood  and  whispered: 

"They  are  crossing  our  swamp.  .  .  .  The  fight  is  on." 

In  fact,  like  an  answer  to  his  words,  came  through 
the  woods  the  sound  of  a  single  rifle-shot,  followed 
closely  by  the  increasing  rat-tat-tat  of  the  mingled  guns. 
Nearer  to  the  house  the  sounds  gradually  came.  Soon 
we  heard  the  beating  of  the  horses'  hoofs  and  the  brutish 
cries  of  the  soldiers.  In  a  moment  three  of  them  burst 
into  the  house,  from  off  the  road  where  they  were  being 
raked  now  by  the  Tartars  from  both  directions,  cursing 
violently.  One  of  them  shot  at  our  host.  He  stumbled 
along  and  fell  on  his  knee,  as  his  hand  reached  out 
toward  the  rifle  under  his  pillows. 

"Who  are  you?"  brutally  blurted  out  one  of  the 
soldiers,  turning  to  us  and  raising  his  rifle.  We  answered 
with  Mausers  and  successfully,  for  only  one  soldier  in 
the  rear  by  the  door  escaped,  and  that  merely  to  fall 


THE  BATTLE  ON   THE  SEYBI  51 

into  the  hands  of  a  workman  in  the  courtyard  who 
strangled  him.  The  fight  had  begun.  The  soldiers  called 
on  their  comrades  for  help.  The  Reds  were  strung  along 
in  the  ditch  at  the  side  of  the  road,  three  hundred  paces 
from  the  house,  returning  the  fire  of  the  surrounding 
Tartars.  Several  soldiers  ran  to  the  house  to  help  their 
comrades  but  this  time  we  heard  the  regular  volley  of 
the  workmen  of  our  host.  They  fired  as  though  in  a 
manoeuvre  calmly  and  accurately.  Five  Red  soldiers  lay 
on  the  road,  while  the  rest  now  kept  to  their  ditch.  Be- 
fore long  we  discovered  that  they  began  crouching  and 
crawling  out  toward  the  end  of  the  ditch  nearest  the 
wood  where  they  had  left  their  horses.  The  sounds  of 
shots  became  more  and  more  distant  and  soon  we  saw 
fifty  or  sixty  Tartars  pursuing  the  Reds  across  the 
meadow. 

Two  days  we  rested  here  on  the  Seybi.  The  work- 
men of  our  host,  eight  in  number,  turned  out  to  be  offi- 
cers hiding  from  the  Bolsheviks.  They  asked  permis- 
sion to  go  on  with  us,  to  which  we  agreed. 

When  my  friend  and  I  continued  our  trip  we  had  a 
guard  of  eight  armed  officers  and  three  horses  with  packs. 
We  crossed  a  beautiful  valley  between  the  Rivers  Seybi 
and  Ut.  Everywhere  we  saw  splendid  grazing  lands 
with  numerous  herds  upon  them,  but  in  two  or  three 
houses  along  the  road  we  did  not  find  anyone  living.  All 
had  hidden  away  in  fear  after  hearing  the  sounds  of  the 
fight  with  the  Reds.  The  following  day  we  went  up 
over  the  high  chain  of  mountains  called  Daban  and, 
traversing  a  great  area  of  burned  timber  where  our  trail 
lay  among  the  fallen  trees,  we  began  to  descend  into  a 
valley  hidden  from  us  by  the  intervening  foothills.  There 


52  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

behind  these  hills  flowed  the  Little  Yenisei,  the  last  large 
river  before  reaching  Mongolia  proper.  About  ten  kilo- 
meters from  the  river  we  spied  a  column  of  smoke  ris- 
ing up  out  of  the  wood.  Two  of  the  officers  slipped 
away  to  make  an  investigation.  For  a  long  time  they 
did  not  return  and  we,  fearful  lest  something  had  hap- 
pened, moved  off  carefully  in  the  direction  of  the  smoke, 
all  ready  for  a  fight  if  necessary.  We  finally  came  near 
enough  to  hear  the  voices  of  many  people  and  among 
them  the  loud  laugh  of  one  of  our  scouts.  In  the  middle 
of  a  meadow  we  made  out  a  large  tent  with  two  tepees 
of  branches  and  around  these  a  crowd  of  fifty  or  sixty 
men.  When  we  broke  out  of  the  forest  all  of  them 
rushed  forward  with  a  joyful  welcome  for  us.  It 
appeared  that  it  was  a  large  camp  of  Russian  officers 
and  soldiers  who,  after  their  escape  from  Siberia,  had 
lived  in  the  houses  of  the  Russian  colonists  and  rich 
peasants  in  Urianhai. 

"What  are  you  doing  here?"  we  asked  with  surprise. 

"Oh,  ho,  you  know  nothing  at  all  about  what  has  been 
going  on?"  replied  a  fairly  old  man  who  called  himself 
Colonel  Ostrovsky.  "In  Urianhai  an  order  has  been 
issued  from  the  Military  Commissioner  to  mobilize  all 
men  over  twenty-eight  years  of  age  and  everywhere 
toward  the  town  of  Belotzarsk  are  moving  detachments 
of  these  Partisans.  They  are  robbing  the  colonists  and 
peasants  and  killing  everyone  that  falls  into  their  hands. 
We  are  hiding  here  from  them." 

The  whole  camp  counted  only  sixteen  rifles  and  three 
bombs,  belonging  to  a  Tartar  who  was  traveling  with 
his  Kalmuck  guide  to  his  herds  in  Western  Mongolia. 
We  explained  the  aim  of  our  journey  and  our  intention 


THE   BATTLE   ON   THE   SEYBI  53 

to  pass  through  Mongolia  to  the  nearest  port  on  the 
Pacific.  The  officers  asked  me  to  bring  them  out  with 
us.  I  agreed.  Our  reconnaisance  proved  to  us  that  there 
were  no  Partisans  near  the  house  of  the  peasant  who  was 
to  ferry  us  over  the  Little  Yenisei.  We  moved  off  at 
once  in  order  to  pass  as  quickly  as  possible  this  danger- 
ous zone  of  the  Yenisei  and  to  sink  ourselves  into  the 
forest  beyond.  It  snowed  but  immediately  thawed.  Be- 
fore evening  a  cold  north  wind  sprang  up,  bringing  with 
it  a  small  blizzard.  Late  in  the  night  our  party  reached 
the  river.  Our  colonist  welcomed  us  and  offered  at  once 
to  ferry  us  over  and  swim  the  horses,  although  there 
was  ice  still  floating  which  had  come  down  from  the 
head-waters  of  the  stream.  During  this  conversation 
there  was  present  one  of  the  peasant's  workmen,  red- 
haired  and  squint-eyed.  He  kept  moving  around  all  the 
time  and  suddenly  disappeared.  Our  host  noticed  it  and, 
with  fear  in  his  voice,  said: 

"He  has  run  to  the  village  and  will  guide  the  Partisans 
here.     We  must  cross  immediately." 

Then  began  the  most  terrible  night  of  my  whole 
journey.  We  proposed  to  the  colonist  that  he  take  only 
our  food  and  ammunition  in  the  boat,  while  we  would 
swim  our  horses  across,  in  order  to  save  the  time  of  the 
many  trips.  The  width  of  the  Yenisei  in  this  place  is 
about  three  hundred  metres.  The  stream  is  very  rapid 
and  the  shore  breaks  away  abruptly  to  the  full  depth  of 
the  stream.  The  night  was  absolutely  dark  with  not 
a  star  in  the  sky.  The  wind  in  whistling  swirls  drove 
the  snow  and  sleet  sharply  against  our  faces.  Before 
us  flowed  the  stream  of  black,  rapid  water,  carrying 
down  thin,  jagged  blocks  of  ice,  twisting  and  grinding 


54  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

in  the  whirls  and  eddies.  For  a  long  time  my  horse 
-refused  to  take  the  plunge  down  the  steep  bank,  snorted 
and  braced  himself.  With  all  my  strength  I  lashed  him 
with  my  whip  across  his  neck  until,  with  a  pitiful  groan, 
he  threw  himself  into  the  cold  stream.  We  both  went 
all  the  way  under  and  I  hardly  kept  my  seat  in  the  saddle. 
Soon  I  was  some  metres  from  the  shore  with  my  horse 
stretching  his  head  and  neck  far  forward  in  his  efforts 
and  snorting  and  blowing  incessantly.  I  felt  the  every 
motion  of  his  feet  churning  the  water  and  the  quivering 
of  his  whole  body  under  me  in  this  trial.  At  last  we 
reached  the  middle  of  the  river,  where  the  current  be- 
came exceedingly  rapid  and  began  to  carry  us  down  with 
it.  Out  of  the  ominous  darkness  I  heard  the  shoutings 
of  my  companions  and  the  dull  cries  of  fear  and  suffer- 
ing from  the  horses.  I  was  chest  deep  in  the  icy  water. 
Sometimes  the  floating  blocks  struck  me;  sometimes  the 
waves  broke  up  over  my  head  and  face.  I  had  no  time 
to  look  about  or  to  feel  the  cold.  The  animal  wish  to 
live  took  possession  of  me;  I  became  filled  with  the 
thought  that,  if  my  horse's  strength  failed  in  his  struggle 
with  the  stream,  I  must  perish.  All  my  attention  was 
turned  to  his  efforts  and  to  his  quivering  fear.  Sud- 
denly he  groaned  loudly  and  I  noticed  he  was  sinking. 
The  water  evidently  was  over  his  nostrils,  because  the 
intervals  of  his  frightened  snorts  through  the  nostrils 
became  longer.  A  big  block  of  ice  struck  his  head  and 
turned  him  so  that  he  was  swimming  right  downstream. 
With  difficulty  I  reined  him  around  toward  the  shore 
but  felt  now  that  his  force  was  gone.  His  head  several 
times  disappeared  under  the  swirling  surface.  I  had  no 
choice.     I  slipped  from  the  saddle  and,  holding  this  by 


THE  BATTLE  ON  THE   SEYBI  55 

my  left  hand,  swam  with  my  right  beside  my  mount, 
encouraging  him  with  my  shouts.  For  a  time  he  floated 
with  Hps  apart  and  his  teeth  set  firm.  In  his  widely 
opened  eyes  was  indescribable  fear.  As  soon  as  I  was 
out  of  the  saddle,  he  had  at  once  risen  in  the  water  and 
swam  more  calmly  and  rapidly.  At  last  under  the  hoofs 
of  my  exhausted  animal  I  heard  the  stones.  One  after 
another  my  companions  came  up  on  the  shore.  The  well- 
trained  horses  had  brought  all  their  burdens  over.  Much 
farther  down  our  colonist  landed  with  the  supplies. 
Without  a  moment's  loss  we  packed  our  things  on  the 
horses  and  continued  our  journey.  The  wind  was  grow- 
ing stronger  and  colder.  At  the  dawn  of  day  the  cold 
was  intense.  Our  soaked  clothes  froze  and  became  hard 
as  leather;  our  teeth  chattered;  and  in  our  eyes  showed 
the  red  fires  of  fever:  but  we  traveled  on  to  put  as  much 
space  as  we  could  between  ourselves  and  the  Partisans. 
Passing  about  fifteen  kilometres  through  the  forest  we 
emerged  into  an  open  valley,  from  which  we  could  see 
the  opposite  bank  of  the  Yenisei.  It  was  about  eight 
o'clock.  Along  the  road  on  the  other  shore  wound  the 
black  serpent-like  line  of  riders  and  wagons  which  we 
made  out  to  be  a  column  of  Red  soldiers  with  their  trans- 
port. We  dismounted  and  hid  in  the  bushes  in  order 
to  avoid  attracting  their  attention. 

All  the  day  with  the  thermometer  at  zero  and  below 
we  continued  our  journey,  only  at  night  reaching  the 
mountains  covered  with  larch  forests,  where  we  made 
big  fires,  dried  our  clothes  and  warmed  ourselves  thor- 
oughly. The  hungry  horses  did  not  leave  the  fires  but 
stood  right  behind  us  with  drooped  heads  and  slept.  Very 
early  in  the  morning  several  Soyots  came  to  our  camp. 


S6  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

''Ulanf     (Red?)"  asked  one  of  them. 

"No!     No!"  exclaimed  all  our  company. 

"Tzagan?     (White?)"  followed  the  new  question. 

"Yes,  yes,"  said  the  Tartar,  "all  are  Whites." 

"Mende!  Mende!"  they  grunted  and,  after  starting 
their  cups  of  tea,  began  to  relate  very  interesting  and 
important  news.  It  appeared  that  the  Red  Partisans, 
moving  from  the  mountains  Tannu  Ola,  occupied  with 
their  outposts  all  the  border  of  Mongolia  to  stop  and 
seize  the  peasants  and  Soyots  driving  out  their  cattle. 
To  pass  the  Tannu  Ola  now  would  be  impossible.  I 
saw  only  one  way — to  turn  sharp  to  the  southeast,  pass 
the  swampy  valley  of  the  Buret  Hei  and  reach  the  south 
shore  of  Lake  Kosogol,  which  is  already  in  the  territory 
of  Mongolia  proper.  It  was  very  unpleasant  news.  To 
the  first  Mongol  post  in  Samgaltai  was  not  more  than 
sixty  miles  from  our  camp,  while  to  Kosogol  by  the 
shortest  line  not  less  than  two  hundred  seventy- five. 
The  horses  my  friend  and  I  were  riding,  after  having 
traveled  more  than  six  hundred  miles  over  hard  roads 
and  without  proper  food  or  rest,  could  scarcely  make 
such  an  additional  distance.  But,  reflecting  upon  the 
situation  and  studying  my  new  fellow  travelers,  I  deter- 
mined not  to  attempt  to  pass  the  Tannu  Ola.  They  were 
nervous,  morally  weary  men,  badly  dressed  and  armed 
and  most  of  them  were  without  weapons.  I  knew  that 
during  a  fight  there  is  no  danger  so  great  as  that  of 
disarmed  men.  They  are  easily  caught  by  panic,  lose 
their  heads  and  infect  all  the  others.  Therefore,  I  con- 
sulted with  my  friends  and  decided  to  go  to  Kosogol. 
Our  company  agreed  to  follow  us.  After  luncheon,  con- 
sisting of  soup  with  big  lumps  of  meat,  dry  bread  and 


THE  BATTLE   ON  THE  SEYBI  57 

tea,  we  moved  out.  About  two  o'clock  the  mountains 
began  to  rise  up  before  us.  They  were  the  northeast  out- 
spurs  of  the  Tannu  Ola,  behind  which  lay  the  Valley 
of  Buret  Hei. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  BARRIER  OF  RED  PARTISANS 

T  N  a  valley  between  two  sharp  ridges  we  discovered 
■*■  a  herd  of  yaks  and  cattle  being  rapidly  driven  off 
to  the  north  by  ten  mounted  Soyots.  Approaching  us 
warily  they  finally  revealed  that  Noyon  (Prince)  of 
Todji  had  ordered  them  to  drive  the  herds  along  the 
Buret  Hei  into  Mongolia,  apprehending  the  pillaging  of 
the  Red  Partisans.  They  proceeded  but  were  informed 
by  some  Soyot  hunters  that  this  part  of  the  Tannu  Ola 
was  occupied  by  the  Partisans  from  the  village  of 
Vladimirovka.  Consequently  they  were  forced  to  return. 
We  inquired  from  them  the  whereabouts  of  these  out- 
posts and  how  many  Partisians  were  holding  the  moun- 
tain pass  over  into  Mongolia.  We  sent  out  the  Tartar 
and  the  Kalmuck  for  a  reconnaissance  while  all  of  us 
prepared  for  the  further  advance  by  wrapping  the  feet 
of  our  horses  in  our  shirts  and  by  muzzling  their  noses 
with  straps  and  bits  of  rope  so  that  they  could  not  neigh. 
It  was  dark  when  our  investigators  returned  and  reported 
to  us  that  about  thirty  Partisans  had  a  camp  some  ten 
kilometers  from  us,  occupying  the  yiirtas  of  the  Soyots. 
At  the  pass  were  two  outposts,  one  of  two  soldiers  and 
the  other  of  three.  From  the  outposts  to  the  camp  was  a 
little  over  a  mile.  Our  trail  lay  between  the  two  outposts. 
From  the  top  of  the  mountain  one  could  plainly  see  the 
two  posts  and  could  shoot  them  all.    When  we  had  come 

58 


THE  BARRIER  OF  RED   PARTISANS  59 

near  to  the  top  of  this  mountain,  I  left  our  party  and, 
taking  with  me  my  friend,  the  Tartar,  the  Kalmuck  and 
two  of  the  young  officers,  advanced.  From  the  moun- 
tain I  saw  about  five  hundred  yards  ahead  two  fires.  At 
each  of  the  fires  sat  a  soldier  with  his  rifle  and  the  others 
slept.  I  did  not  want  to  fight  with  the  Partisans  but 
we  had  to  do  away  with  these  outposts  and  that  without 
firing  or  we  never  should  get  through  the  pass.  I  did 
not  believe  the  Partisans  could  afterwards  track  us  be- 
cause the  whole  trail  was  thickly  marked  with  the  spoors 
of  horses  and  cattle. 

*T  shall  take  for  my  share  these  two,"  whispered  my 
friend,  pointing  to  the  left  outpost. 

The  rest  of  us  were  to  take  care  of  the  second  post. 
I  crept  along  through  the  bushes  behind  my  friend  in 
order  to  help  him  in  case  of  need;  but  I  am  bound  to 
admit  that  I  was  not  at  all  worried  about  him.  He  was 
about  seven  feet  tall  and  so  strong  that,  when  a  horse 
used  to  refuse  sometimes  to  take  the  bit,  he  would  wrap 
his  arm  around  its  neck,  kick  its  forefeet  out  from  under 
it  and  throw  it  so  that  he  could  easily  bridle  it  on  the 
ground.  When  only  a  hundred  paces  remained,  I  stood 
behind  the  bushes  and  watched.  I  could  see  very  dis- 
tinctly the  fire  and  the  dozing  sentinel.  He  sat  with  his 
rifle  on  his  knees.  His  companion,  asleep  beside  him, 
did  not  move.  Their  white  felt  boots  were  plainly  visible 
to  me.  For  a  long  time  I  did  not  remark  my  friend. 
At  the  fire  all  was  quiet.  Suddenly  from  the  other  out- 
post floated  over  a  few  dim  shouts  and  all  was  still.  Our 
sentinel  slowly  raised  his  head.  But  just  at  this  moment 
the  huge  body  of  my  friend  rose  up  and  blanketed  the 
fire  from  me  and  in  a  twinkling  the  feet  of  the  sentinel 


6o  BEASTS,  MEN  AND  GODS 

flashed  through  the  air,  as  my  companion  had  seized  him 
by  the  throat  and  swung  him  clear  into  the  bushes,  where 
both  figures  disappeared.  In  a  second  he  re-appeared, 
flourished  the  rifle  of  the  Partisan  over  his  head  and  I 
heard  the  dull  blow  which  was  followed  by  an  absolute 
calm.  He  came  back  toward  me  and,  confusedly  smiling, 
said: 

"It  is  done.  God  and  the  Devil !  When  I  was  a  boy, 
my  mother  wanted  to  make  a  priest  out  of  me.  When 
I  grew  up,  I  became  a  trained  agronome  in  order  .  .  . 
to  strangle  the  people  and  smash  their  skulls.  Revolution 
is  a  very  stupid  thing!" 

And  with  anger  and  disgust  he  spit  and  began  to  smoke 
his  pipe. 

At  the  other  outpost  also  all  was  finished.  During  this 
night  we  reached  the  top  of  the  Tannu  Ola  and  descended 
again  into  a  valley  covered  with  dense  bushes  and  twined 
with  a  whole  network  of  small  rivers  and  streams.  It 
was  the  headwaters  of  the  Buret  Hei.  About  one  o'clock 
we  stopped  and  began  to  feed  our  horses,  as  the  grass 
just  there  was  very  good.  Here  we  thought  ourselves 
in  safety.  We  saw  many  calming  indications.  On  the 
mountains  were  seen  the  grazing  herds  of  reindeers  and 
yaks  and  approaching  Soyots  confirmed  our  supposition. 
Here  behind  the  Tannu  Ola  the  Soyots  had  not  seen 
the  Red  soldiers.  We  presented  to  these  Soyots  a  brick 
of  tea  and  saw  them  depart  happy  and  sure  that  we  were 
"Tzagan,"  a  "good  people." 

While  our  horses  rested  and  grazed  on  the  well-pre- 
served grass,  we  sat  by  the  fire  and  deliberated  upon  our 
further  progress.  There  developed  a  sharp  controversy 
between  two  sections  of  our  company,  one  led    by    a 


THE  BARRIER  OF  RED  PARTISANS  6i 

Colonel  who  with  four  officers  were  so  impressed  by 
the  absence  of  Reds  south  of  the  Tannu  Ola  that  they 
determined  to  work  westward  to  Kobdo  and  then  on 
to  the  camp  on  the  Emil  River  where  the  Chinese  authori- 
ties had  interned  six  thousand  of  the  forces  of  General 
Bakitch,  which  had  come  over  into  Mongolian  territory. 
My  friend  and  I  with  sixteen  of  the  officers  chose  to 
carry  through  our  old  plan  to  strike  for  the  shores  of 
Lake  Kosogol  and  thence  out  to  the  Far  East.  As  neither 
side  could  persuade  the  other  to  abandon  its  ideas,  our 
company  was  divided  and  the  next  day  at  noon  we  took 
kave  of  one  another.  It  turned  out  that  our  own  wing 
of  eighteen  had  many  fights  and  difficulties  on  the  way, 
which  cost  us  the  lives  of  six  of  our  comrades,  but  that 
the  remainder  of  us  came  through  to  the  goal  of  our 
journey  so  closely  knit  by  the  ties  of  devotion  which 
fighting  and  struggling  for  our  very  lives  entailed  that 
we  have  ever  preserved  for  one  another  the  warmest 
feelings  of  friendship.  The  other  group  under  Colonel 
Jukoff  perished.  He  met  a  big  detachment  of  Red 
cavalry  and  was  defeated  by  them  in  two  fights.  Only 
two  officers  escaped.  They  related  to  me  this  sad  news 
and  the  details  of  the  fights  when  we  met  four  months 
later  in  Urga. 

Our  band  of  eighteen  riders  with  five  packhorses 
moved  up  the  valley  of  the  Buret  Hei.  We  floundered 
in  the  swamps,  passed  innumerable  miry  streams,  were 
frozen  by  the  cold  winds  and  were  soaked  through  by 
the  snow  and  sleet;  but  we  persisted  indefatigably  toward 
the  south  end  of  Kosogol.  As  a  guide  our  Tartar  led 
us  confidently  over  these  trails  well  marked  by  the  feet 
of  many  cattle  being  run  out  of  Urianhai  to  Mongolia. 


CHAPTER  XII 
IN  THE  COUNTRY  OF  ETERNAL  PEACE 

THE  inhabitants  of  Urianhai,  the  Soyots,  are  proud 
of  being  the  genuine  Buddhists  and  of  retaining  the 
pure  doctrine  of  holy  Rama  and  the  deep  wisdom  of 
Sakkia-Mouni.  They  are  the  eternal  enemies  of  war  and 
of  the  shedding  of  blood.  Away  back  in  the  thirteenth 
century  they  preferred  to  move  out  from  their  native 
land  and  take  refuge  in  the  north  rather  than  fight  or 
become  a  part  of  the  empire  of  the  bloody  conqueror 
Jenghiz  Khan,  who  wanted  to  add  to  his  forces  these 
wonderful  horsemen  and  skilled  archers.  Three  times  in 
their  history  they  have  thus  trekked  northward  to  avoid 
struggle  and  now  no  one  can  say  that  on  the  hands  of 
the  Soyots  there  has  ever  been  seen  human  blood.  With 
their  love  of  peace  they  struggled  against  the  evils  of 
war.  Even  the  severe  Chinese  administrators  could  not 
apply  here  in  this  country  of  peace  the  full  measure  of 
their  implacable  laws.  In  the  same  manner  the  Soyots 
conducted  themselves  when  the  Russian  people,  mad  with 
blood  and  crime,  brought  this  infection  into  their  land. 
They  avoided  persistently  meetings  and  encounters  with 
the  Red  troops  and  Partisans,  trekking  off  witli  their 
families  and  cattle  southward  into  the  distant  principali- 
ties of  Kemchik  and  Soldjak.  The  eastern  branch  of 
this  stream  of  eni\'.;Tation  passed  through  the  valley  of 

62 


IN  THE  COUNTRY  OF  ETERNAL  PEACE   63 

the  Buret  Hei,  where  we  constantly  outstrode  groups  of 
them  with  their  cattle  and  herds. 

We  traveled  quickly  along  the  winding  trail  of  the 
Buret  Hei  and  in  two  days  began  to  make  the  elevations 
of  the  mountain  pass  between  the  valleys  of  the  Buret 
Hei  and  Kharga.  The  trail  was  not  only  very  steep  but 
was  also  littered  with  fallen  larch  trees  and  frequently 
intercepted,  incredible  as  it  may  seem,  with  swampy 
places  where  the  horses  mired  badly.  Then  again  we 
picked  our  dangerous  road  over  cobbles  and  small  stones 
that  rolled  away  under  our  horses'  feet  and  bumped  off 
over  the  precipice  nearby.  Our  horses  fatigued  easily 
in  passing  this  moraine  that  had  been  strewn  by  ancient 
glaciers  along  the  mountain  sides.  Sometimes  the  trail 
led  right  along  the  edge  of  the  precipices  where  the  horses 
started  great  slides  of  stones  and  sand.  I  remember  one 
whole  mountain  covered  with  these  moving  sands.  We 
had  to  leave  our  saddles  and,  taking  the  bridles  in  our 
hands,  to  trot  for  a  mile  or  more  over  these  sliding  beds, 
sometimes  sinking  in  up  to  our  knees  and  going  down 
the  mountain  side  with  them  toward  the  precipices  below. 
One  imprudent  move  at  times  would  have  sent  us  over 
the  brink.  This  destiny  met  one  of  our  horses.  Belly 
down  in  the  moving  trap,  he  could  not  work  free  to 
change  his  direction  and  so  slipped  on  down  with  a  mass 
of  it  until  he  rolled  over  the  precipice  and  was  lost  to  us 
forever.  We  heard  only  the  crackling  of  breaking  trees 
along  his  road  to  death.  Then  with  great  difficulty  we 
worked  down  to  salvage  the  saddle  and  bags.  Further 
along  we  had  to  abandon  one  of  our  pack  horses  which 
had  come  all  the  way  from  the  northern  border  of 
Urianhai  with  us.     We  first  unburdened  it  but  this  did 


«4  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

not  help;  no  more  did  our  shouting  and  threats.  He 
only  stood  with  his  head  down  and  looked  so  exhausted 
that  we  realized  he  had  reached  the  further  bourne  of 
his  land  of  toil.  Some  Soyots  with  us  examined  him, 
felt  of  his  muscles  on  the  fore  and  hind  legs,  took  his 
head  in  their  hands  and  moved  it  from  side  to  side, 
examined  his  head  carefully  after  that  and  then  said: 

"That  horse  will  not  go  further.  His  brain  is  dried 
out."    So  we  had  to  leave  him. 

That  evening  we  came  to  a  beautiful  change  in  scene 
when  we  topped  a  rise  and  found  ourselves  on  a  broad 
plateau  covered  with  larch.  On  it  we  discovered  the 
yurtas  of  some  Soyot  hunters,  covered  with  bark  instead 
of  the  usual  felt.  Out  of  these  ten  men  with  rifles 
rushed  toward  us  as  we  approached.  They  informed  us 
that  the  Prince  of  Soldjak  did  not  allow  anyone  to  pass 
this  way,  as  he  feared  the  coming  of  murderers  and 
robbers  into  his  dominions. 

"Go  back  to  the  place  from  which  you  came,"  they 
advised  us  with  fear  in  their  eyes. 

I  did  not  answer  but  I  stopped  the  beginnings  of  a 
quarrel  between  an  old  Soyot  and  one  of  my  officers. 
I  pointed  to  the  small  stream  in  the  valley  ahead  of  us 
and  asked  him  its  name. 

"Oyna,"  replied  the  Soyot.  "It  is  the  border  of  the 
principality  and  the  passage  of  it  is  forbidden." 

"All  right,"  I  said,  "but  you  will  allow  us  to  warm 
and  rest  ourselves  a  little." 

"Yes,  yes!"  exclaimed  the  hospitable  Soyots,  and  led 
us  into  their  tepees. 

On  our  way  there  I  took  the  opportunity  to  hand  to 
the   old   Soyot   a   cigarette   and   to   another  a   box   of 


IN  THE  COUNTRY  OF  ETERNAL  PEACE    65 

matches.  We  were  all  walking  along  together  save  one 
Soyot  who  limped  slowly  in  the  rear  and  was  holding 
his  hand  up  over  his  nose. 

"Is  he  ill?"     I  asked. 

"Yes,"  sadly  answered  the  old  Soyot.  "That  is  my 
son.  He  has  been  losing  blood  from  the  nose  for  two 
days  and  is  now  quite  weak." 

I  stopped  and  called  the  young  man  to  me. 

"Unbutton  your  outer  coat,"  I  ordered,  "bare  your 
neck  and  chest  and  turn  your  face  up  as  far  as  you  can." 
I  pressed  the  jugular  vein  on  both  sides  of  his  head  for 
some  minutes  and  said  to  him : 

"The  blood  will  not  flow  from  your  nose  any  more. 
Go  into  your  tepee  and  lie  down  for  some  time." 

The  "mysterious"  action  of  my  fingers  created  on  the 
Soyots  a  strong  impression.  The  old  Soyot  with  fear 
and  reverence  whispered: 

"Ta  Lama,  Ta  Lama!     (Great  Doctor)." 

In  the  yurta  we  were  given  tea  while  the  old  Soyot 
sat  thinking  deeply  about  something.  Afterwards  he  took 
counsel  with  his  companions  and  finally  announced: 

"The  wife  of  our  Prince  is  sick  in  her  eyes  and  I 
think  the  Prince  will  be  very  glad  if  I  lead  the  Ta  Lama* 
to  him.  He  will  not  punish  me,  for  he  ordered  that  no 
'bad  people'  should  be  allowed  to  pass;  but  that  should 
not  stop  the  'good  people*  from  coming  to  us." 

"Do  as  you  think  best,'*  I  replied  rather  indifferently. 
"As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  know  how  to  treat  eye  diseases 
but  I  would  go  back  if  you  say  so.'* 

"No,  no !"  the  old  man  exclaimed  with  fear.  "I  shall 
guide  you  myself.*' 

Sitting  by  the  fire,  he  lighted  liis  pipe  with  a  flint, 


66  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

wiped  the  mouthpiece  on  his  sleeve  and  offered  it  to  me 
in  true  native  hospitahty.  I  was  "comme  il  faut"  and 
smoked.  Afterwards  he  offered  his  pipe  to  each  one 
of  our  company  and  received  from  each  a  cigarette,  a 
little  tobacco  or  some  matches.  It  was  the  seal  on  our 
friendship.  Soon  in  our  ynrta  many  persons  piled  up 
around  us,  men,  women,  children  and  dogs.  It  was 
impossible  to  move.  From  among  them  emerged  a  Lama 
with  shaved  face  and  close  cropped  hair,  dressed  in  the 
flowing  red  garment  of  his  caste.  His  clothes  and  his 
expression  were  very  different  from  the  common  mass 
of  dirty  Soyots  with  their  queues  and  felt  caps  finished 
off  with  squirrel  tails  on  the  top.  The  Lama  was  very 
kindly  disposed  towards  us  but  looked  ever  greedily  at 
our  gold  rings  and  watches.  I  decided  to  exploit  this 
avidity  of  the  Servant  of  Buddha.  Supplying  him  with 
tea  and  dried  bread,  I  made  known  to  him  that  I  was 
in  need  of  horses. 

'T  have  a  horse.  Will  you  buy  it  from  me?"  he  asked. 
"But  I  do  not  accept  Russian  bank  notes.  Let  us  ex- 
change something." 

For  a  long  time  I  bargained  with  him  and  at  last  for 
my  gold  wedding  ring,  a  raincoat  and  a  leather  saddle 
bag  I  received  a  fine  Soyot  horse — to  replace  one  of  the 
pack  animals  we  had  lost — and  a  young  goat.  We 
spent  the  night  here  and  were  feasted  with  fat  mutton. 
In  the  morning  we  moved  off  under  the  guidance  of  the 
old  Soyot  along  the  trail  that  followed  the  valley  of  the 
Oyna,  free  from  both  mountains  and  swamps.  But  we 
knew  that  the  mounts  of  my  friend  and  myself,  together 
with  three  others,  were  too  worn  down  to  make  Kosogol 
and  determined  to  tr^'  to  buy  others  in  Soldjak.     Soon 


IN  THE  COUNTRY  OF  ETERNAL  PEACE      67 

we  began  to  meet  little  groups  of  Soyot  yurtas  with  their 
cattle  and  horses  round  about.  Finally  we  approached 
the  shifting  capital  of  the  Prince.  Our  guide  rode  on 
ahead  for  the  parley  with  him  after  assuring  us  that  the 
Prince  would  be  glad  to  welcome  the  Ta  Lama,  though 
at  the  time  I  remarked  great  anxiety  and  fear  in  his 
features  as  he  spoke.  Before  long  we  emerged  on  to  a 
large  plain  well  covered  with  small  bushes.  Down  by 
the  shore  of  the  river  we  made  out  big  yurtas  with 
yellow  and  blue  flags  floating  over  them  and  easily 
guessed  that  this  w^as  the  seat  of  government.  Soon  our 
guide  returned  to  us.  His  face  was  wreathed  with  smiles. 
He  flourished  his  hands  and  cried : 

"Noyon  (the  Prince)  asks  you  to  come!  He  is  very 
glad!" 

From  a  warrior  I  was  forced  to  change  myself  Into 
a  diplomat.  As  we  approached  the  yurta  of  the  Prince, 
we  were  met  by  two  officials,  wearing  the  peaked  Mongol 
caps  with  peacock  feathers  rampants  behind.  With  low 
obeisances  they  begged  the  foreign  "Noyon"  to  enter  the 
yurta.  My  friend  the  Tartar  and  I  entered.  In  the 
rich  yurta  draped  with  expensive  silk  we  discovered  a 
feeble,  wizen-faced  little  old  man  with  shaven  face  and 
cropped  hair,  wearing  also  a  high  pointed  beaver  cap 
with  red  silk  apex  topped  off  with  a  dark  red  button 
with  the  long  peacock  feathers  streaming  out  behind. 
On  his  nose  were  big  Chinese  spectacles.  He  was  sitting 
on  a  low  divan,  nervously  clicking  the  beads  of  his  rosary. 
This  was  Ta  Lama,  Prince  of  Soldjak  and  High  Priest 
of  the  Buddhist  Temple.  He  welcomed  us  very  cordially 
and  invited  us  to  sit  down  before  the  fire  burning  in 
the  copper  brazier.     His  surprisingly  beautiful  Princess 


68  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

served  us  with  tea  and  Chinese  confections  and  cakes. 
We  smoke<i  our  pipes,  though  the  Prince  as  a  Lama  did 
not  indulge,  fulfiUing,  however,  his  duty  as  a  host  by 
raising  to  his  Hps  the  pipes  we  offered  him  and  handing 
us  in  return  the  green  nephrite  bottle  of  snuff.  Thus 
with  the  etiquette  accomplished  we  awaited  the  words 
of  the  Prince.  He  inquired  whether  our  travels  had  been 
felicitous  and  what  were  our  further  plans.  I  talked 
with  him  quite  frankly  and  requested  his  hospitality  for 
the  rest  of  our  company  and  for  the  horses.  He  agreed 
immediately  and  ordered  four  yurtas  set  up  for  us. 

"I  hear  that  the  foreign  Noyon,"  the  Prince  said,  "is 
a  good  doctor." 

"Yes,  I  know  some  diseases  and  have  with  me  some 
medicines,"  I  answered,  "but  I  am  not  a  doctor.  I  am 
a  scientist  in  other  branches." 

But  the  Prince  did  not  tmderstand  this.  In  his  simple 
directness  a  man  who  knows  how  to  treat  disease  is  a 
doctor. 

"My  wife  has  had  constant  trouble  for  two  months 
with  her  eyes,"  he  announced.    "Help  her." 

I  asked  the  Princess  to  show  me  her  eyes  and  I  found 
the  typical  conjunctivitis  from  the  continual  smoke  of 
the  yurta  and  the  general  uncleanliness.  The  Tartar 
brought  me  my  medicine  case.  I  washed  her  eyes  with 
boric  acid  and  dropped  a  little  cocaine  and  a  feeble  solu- 
tion of  sulphurate  of  zinc  into  them. 

"I  beg  you  to  cure  me,"  pleaded  the  Princess.  "Do 
not  go  away  until  you  have  cured  me.  We  shall  give 
you  sheep,  milk  and  flour  for  all  your  company.  I  weep 
now  very  often  because  I  had  very  nice  eyes  and  my 


IN  THE  COUNTRY  OP  ETERNAL  PEACE   69 

husband  used  to  tell  me  they  shone  like  the  stars  and 
now  they  are  red.    I  cannot  bear  it,  I  cannot !" 

She  very  capriciously  stamped  her  foot  and,  coquet- 
tishly  smiling  at  me,  asked: 

"Do  you  want  to  cure  me?    Yes?" 

The  character  and  manners  of  lovely  woman  are  the 
same  everywhere:  on  bright  Broadway,  along  the  stately 
Thames,  on  the  vivacious  boulevards  of  gay  Paris  and 
in  the  silk-draped  yurta  of  the  Soyot  Princess  behind  the 
larch  covered  Tannu  Ola. 

*T  shall  certainly  try,"  assuringly  answered  the  new 
oculist. 

We  spent  here  ten  days,  surrounded  by  the  kindness 
and  friendship  of  the  whole  family  of  the  Prince.  The 
eyes  of  the  Princess,  which  eight  years  ago  had  seduced 
the  already  old  Prince  Lama,  were  now  recovered.  She 
was  beside  herself  with  joy  and  seldom  left  her  looking- 
glass. 

The  Prince  gave  me  five  fairly  good  horses,  ten  sheep 
and  a  bag  of  flour,  which  was  immediately  transformed 
into  dry  bread.  My  friend  presented  him  with  a  Roma- 
noff five-hundred-rouble  note  with  a  picture  of  Peter  the 
Great  upon  it,  while  I  gave  to  him  a  small  nugget  of  gold 
which  I  had  picked  up  in  the  bed  of  a  stream.  The 
Prince  ordered  one  of  the  Soyots  to  guide  us  to  the 
Kosogol.  The  whole  family  of  the  Prince  conducted  us 
to  the  monastery  ten  kilometres  from  the  "capital."  We 
did  not  visit  the  monastery  but  we  stopped  at  the 
"Dugun,"  a  Chinese  trading  establishment.  The  Chinese 
merchants  looked  at  us  in  a  very  hostile  manner  though 
they  simultaneously  offered  us  all  sorts  of  goods,  think- 
ing  especially    to    catch    us    with    their    round    bottles 


70  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

{lanJion)  of  nmygolo  or  sweet  brandy  made  from  ani- 
seed. As  we  had  neither  lump  silver  nor  Chinese  dollars, 
we  could  only  look  with  longing  at  these  attractive  bottles, 
till  the  Prince  came  to  the  rescue  and  ordered  the  Chinest 
to  put  five  of  them  in  our  saddle  bags. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

MYSTERIES,  MIRACLES  AND  A  NEW  FIGHT 

TN  the  evening  of  the  same  day  we  arrived  at  the 
■*■  Sacred  Lake  of  Teri  Noor,  a  sheet  of  water  eight 
kilometres  across,  muddy  and  yellow,  with  low  unattract- 
ive shores  studded  with  large  holes.  In  the  middle  of 
the  lake  lay  what  was  left  of  a  disappearing  island.  On 
this  were  a  few  trees  and  some  old  ruins.  Our  guide 
explained  to  us  that  two  centuries  ago  the  lake  did  not 
exist  and  that  a  very  strong  Chinese  fortress  stood  here 
on  the  plain.  A  Chinese  chief  in  command  of  the  fort- 
ress gave  offence  to  an  old  Lama  who  cursed  the  place 
and  prophesied  that  it  would  all  be  destroyed.  The  very 
next  day  the  water  began  rushing  up  from  the  ground, 
destroyed  the  fortress  and  engulfed  all  the  Chinese 
soldiers.  Even  to  this  day  when  storms  rage  over  the 
lake  the  waters  cast  up  on  the  shores  the  bones  of  men 
and  horses  who  perished  in  it.  This  Teri  Noor  increases 
its  size  every  year,  approaching  nearer  and  nearer  to  the 
mountains.  Skirting  the  eastern  shore  of  the  lake,  we 
began  to  climb  a  snow-capped  ridge.  The  road  was  easy 
at  first  but  the  guide  warned  us  that  the  most  difficult 
bit  was  there  ahead.  We  reached  this  point  two  days 
later  and  found  there  a  steep  mountain  side  thickly  set 
with  forest  and  covered  with  snow.  Beyond  it  lay  the 
lines  of  eternal  snow — ridges  studded  with  dark  rocks 

71 


72  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

set  in  great  banks  of  the  white  mantle  that  gleamed 
bright  under  the  clear  stmshine.  These  were  the  eastern 
and  highest  branches  of  the  Tannu  Ola  system.  We 
spent  the  night  beneath  this  wood  and  began  the  passage 
of  it  in  the  morning.  At  noon  the  guide  began  leading 
us  by  zigzags  in  and  out  but  everywhere  our  trail  was 
Mocked  by  deep  ravines,  great  jams  of  fallen  trees  and 
walls  of  rock  caught  in  their  mad  tobogganings  from 
the  mountain  top.  We  struggled  for  several  hours,  wore 
out  our  horses  and,  all  of  a  sudden,  turned  up  at  the 
place  where  we  had  made  our  last  halt.  It  was  very 
evident  our  Soyot  had  lost  his  way;  and  on  his  face  I 
noticed  marked  fear. 

"The  old  devils  of  the  cursed  forest  will  not  allow 
us  to  pass,"  he  whispered  with  trembling  lips.  "It  is  a 
very  ominous  sign.  We  must  return  to  Kharga  to  the 
Noyon." 

But  I  threatened  him  and  he  took  the  lead  again  evi- 
dently without  hope  or  effort  to  find  the  way.  Fortu- 
nately, one  of  our  party,  an  Urianhai  hunter,  noticed  the 
blazes  on  the  trees,  the  signs  of  the  road  which  our  guide 
had  lost.  Following  these,  we  made  our  way  through 
the  wood,  came  into  and  crossed  a  belt  of  burned  larch 
timber  and  beyond  this  dipped  again  into  a  small  live 
forest  bordering  the  bottom  of  the  mountains  crowned 
witfi  the  eternal  snows.  It  grew  dark  so  that  we  had 
to  camp  for  the  night.  The  wind  rose  high  and  carried 
in  its  grasp  a  great  white  ^eet  of  snow  that  shut  us 
off  from  the  horizon  on  every  side  and  buried  our  camp 
deep  in  its  folds.  Our  horses  stood  round  like  white 
g^sts,  refusing  to  eat  or  to  leave  the  circle  round  our 
fire.     The  wind  combed  their  manes  and  tails.     Througii 


MYSTERIES,    MIRACLES— A   NEW   FIGHT      73 

the  niches  in  the  mountains  it  roared  and  whistled. 
From  somewhere  in  the  distance  came  the  low  rumble 
of  a  pack  of  wolves,  punctuated  at  intervals  by  the  sharp 
individual  barking  that  a  favorable  gust  of  wind  threw 
up  into  high  staccato. 

As  we  lay  by  the  fire,  the  Soyot  came  over  to  me  and 
said:  "Noyon,  come  with  mc  to  the  obo.  I  want  to 
show  you  something." 

We  went  there  and  began  to  ascend  the  mountain. 
At  the  bottom  of  a  very  steep  slope  was  laid  up  a  large 
pile  of  stones  and  tree  trunks,  making  a  cone  of  some 
three  metres  in  height.  These  obo  are  the  Lamaite  sacred 
signs  set  up  at  dangerous  places,  the  altars  to  the  bad 
demons,  rulers  of  these  places.  Passing  Soyots  and 
Mongols  pay  tribute  to  the  spirits  by  hanging  on  the 
branches  of  the  trees  in  the  obo  hatyk,  long  streamers 
of  blue  silk,  shreds  torn  from  the  lining  of  their  coats 
or  simply  tufts  of  hair  cut  from  their  horses'  manes; 
or  by  placing  on  the  stones  lumps  of  meat  or  cups  of 
tea  and  salt. 

"Look  at  it,"  said  the  Soyot.  "The  hatyks  are  torn 
off.  The  demons  are  angry,  they  'vill  not  allow  us  to 
pass,  Noyon.  ..." 

He  caught  my  hand  and  with  supplicating  voice  whis- 
pered: "Let  us  go  back,  Noyon;  let  us!  The  demons 
do  not  wish  us  to  pass  their  mountains.  For  twenty 
years  no  one  has  dared  to  pass  these  mountains  and  all 
bold  men  who  have  tried  have  perished  here.  The  demons 
fell  upon  them  with  snowstorm  and  cold.  Look!  It  is 
beginning  already.  ...  Go  back  to  our  Noyon,  wait  for 
the  warmer  days  and  then.  ..." 

I  did  not  listen  further  to  the  Sovot  but  turned  back 


74  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

to  the  fire,  which  I  could  hardly  see  through  the  blind- 
ing snow.  Fearing  our  guide  might  run  away,  I  ordered 
a  sentry  to  be  stationed  for  the  night  to  watch  him.  Later 
in  the  night  I  was  awakened  by  the  sentry,  who  said  to 
me:    "Maybe  I  am  mistaken,  but  I  think  I  heard  a  rifle." 

What  could  I  say  to  it?  Maybe  some  stragglers  like 
ourselves  were  giving  a  sign  of  their  whereabouts  to 
their  lost  companions,  or  perhaps  the  sentry  had  mis- 
taken for  a  rifle  shot  the  sound  of  some  falling  rock  or 
frozen  ice  and  snow.  Soon  I  fell  asleep  again  and  sud- 
denly saw  in  a  dream  a  very  clear  vision.  Out  on  the 
plain,  blanketed  deep  with  snow,  was  moving  a  line  of 
riders.  They  were  our  pack  horses,  our  Kalmuck  and 
the  funny  pied  horse  with  the  Roman  nose.  I  saw  us 
descending  from  this  snowy  plateau  into  a  fold  in  the 
mountains.  Here  some  larch  trees  were  growing,  close 
to  which  gurgled  a  small,  open  brook.  Afterwards  I 
noticed  a  fire  burning  among  the  trees  and  then  woke 
up. 

It  grew  light.  I  shook  up  the  others  and  asked  them 
to  prepare  quickly  so  as  not  to  lose  time  in  getting  under 
way.  The  storm  was  raging.  The  snow  blinded  us  and 
blotted  out  all  traces  of  the  road.  The  cold  also  became 
more  intense.  At  last  we  were  in  the  saddles.  The 
Soyot  went  ahead  trying  to  make  out  the  trail.  As  we 
worked  higher  the  guide  less  seldom  lost  the  way.  Fre- 
quently we  fell  into  deep  holes  covered  with  snow;  we 
scrambled  up  over  slippery  rocks.  At  last  the  Soyot 
swung  his  horse  round  and,  coming  up  to  me,  announced 
very  positively:  'T  do  not  want  to  die  with  you  and  I 
will  not  go  further." 

My  first  motion  was  the  swing  of  my  whip  back  over 


MYSTERIES,    MIRACLES— A   NEW   FIGHT      75 

my  head.  I  was  so  close  to  the  "Promised  Land"  of 
Mongolia  that  this  Soyot,  standing  in  the  way  of  fulfil- 
ment of  my  wishes,  seemed  to  me  my  worst  enemy.  But 
I  lowered  my  flourishing  hand.  Into  my  head  flashed 
a  quite  wild  thought. 

"Listen,"  I  said.  "If  you  move  your  horses,  you  will 
receive  a  bullet  in  the  back  and  you  will  perish  not  at 
the  top  of  the  mountain  but  at  the  bottom.  And  now 
I  will  tell  you  what  will  happen  to  us.  When  we  shall 
have  reached  these  rocks  above,  the  wind  will  have  ceased 
and  the  snowstorm  will  have  subsided.  The  sun  will 
shine  as  we  cross  the  snowy  plain  above  and  afterwards 
we  shall  descend  into  a  small  valley  where  there  are 
larches  growing  and  a  stream  of  open  running  water. 
There  we  shall  light  our  fires  and  spend  the  night." 

The  Soyot  began  to  tremble  with  fright. 

"Noyon  has  already  passed  these  mountains  of  Dark- 
hat  Ola?"  he  asked  in  amazement. 

"No,"  I  answered,  "but  last  night  I  had  a  vision  and 
I  know  that  we  shall  fortunately  win  over  this  ridge." 

"I  will  guide  you!"  exclaimed  the  Soyot,  and,  whip- 
ping his  horse,  led  the  way  up  the  steep  slope  to  the 
top  of  the  ridge  of  eternal  snows. 

As  we  were  passing  along  the  narrow  edge  of  a 
precipice,  the  Soyot  stopped  and  attentively  examined 
the  trail. 

"Today  many  shod  horses  have  passed  here !"  he  cried 
through  the  roar  of  the  storm.  "Yonder  on  the  snow 
the  lash  of  a  whip  has  been  dragged.  These  are  not 
Soyots." 

The  solution  of  this  enigma  appeared  instantly.  A 
volley  rang  out.     One  of  my  companior.s  cried  out,  as 


76  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

he  caught  hold  of  his  right  shoulder ;  one  pack  horse  fell 
dead  with  a  bullet  behind  his  ear.  We  quickly  tumbled 
out  of  our  saddles,  lay  down  behind  the  rocks  and  began 
to  study  the  situation.  We  were  separated  from  a 
parallel  spur  of  the  mountain  by  a  small  valley  about  one 
thousand  paces  across.  There  we  made  out  about  tiiirty 
riders  already  dismounted  and  firing  at  us.  I  had  never 
allowed  any  fighting  to  be  done  until  the  initiative  had 
been  taken  by  the  other  side.  Our  enemy  fell  upon  us 
unawares  and  I  ordered  my  company  to  answer. 

"Aim  at  the  horses!"  cried  Colonel  Ostrovsky.  Then 
he  ordered  the  Tartar  and  Soyot  to  throw  our  own 
animals.  We  killed  six  of  theirs  and  probably  wounded 
others,  as  they  got  out  of  control.  Also  our  rifles  took 
toll  of  any  bold  man  who  showed  his  head  from  behind 
his  rock.  We  heard  the  angry  shouting  and  maledictions 
of  Red  soldiers  who  shot  up  our  position  more  and  more 
animatedly. 

Suddenly  I  saw  our  Soyot  kick  up  three  of  the  horses 
and  spring  into  the  saddle  of  one  with  the  others  in  leash 
behind.  Behind  him  sprang  up  the  Tartar  and  the  Kal- 
muck. I  had  already  drawn  my  rifle  on  the  Soyot  but, 
as  soon  as  I  saw  the  Tartar  and  Kalmuck  on  their  lovely 
horses  behind  him,  I  dropped  my  gun  and  knew  all  was 
well.  The  Reds  let  off  a  volley  at  the  trio  but  they  made 
good  their  escape  behind  the  rocks  and  disappeared.  The 
firing  continued  more  and  more  lively  and  I  did  not  know 
what  to  do.  From  our  side  we  shot  rarely,  saving  our 
cartridges.  Watching  carefully  the  enemy,  I  noticed  two 
black  points  on  the  snow  high  above  the  Reds.  They 
slowly  approached  our  antagonists  and  finally  were  hid- 
den from  view  behind  some  sharp  hillocks.     When  they 


MYSTERIES,    MIRACLES— A   NEW  FIGHT      77 

emerged  from  these,  they  were  right  on  the  edge  of  some 
overhanging  rocks  at  the  foot  of  which  the  Reds  lay 
concealed  from  us.  By  this  time  I  had  no  doubt  that 
these  were  the  heads  of  two  men.  Suddenly  these  men 
rose  up  and  I  watched  them  flourish  and  throw  some- 
thing that  was  followed  by  two  deafening  roars  which 
re-echoed  across  the  mountain  valley.  Immediately  a 
third  explosion  was  followed  by  wild  shouts  and  dis- 
orderly firing  among  the  Reds.  Some  of  the  horses  rolled 
down  the  slope  into  the  snow  below  and  the  soldiers, 
chased  by  our  shots,  made  ofif  as  fast  as  they  could  down 
into  the  valley  out  of  which  we  had  come. 

Afterward  the  Tartar  told  me  the  Soyot  had  proposed 
to  guide  them  around  behind  the  Reds  to  fall  upon  their 
rear  with  the  bombs.  When  I  had  bound  up  the  wounded 
shoulder  of  the  officer  and  we  had  taken  the  pack  off 
the  killed  animal,  we  continued  our  journey.  Our  posi- 
tion was  complicated.  We  had  no  doubt  that  the  Red 
detachment  came  up  from  Mongolia.  Therefore,  were 
there  Red  troops  in  Mongolia?  What  was  their  strength? 
Where  might  we  meet  them?  Consequently,  Mongolia 
was  no  more  the  Promised  Land?  Very  sad  thoughts 
took  possession  of  us. 

But  Nature  pleased  us.  The  wind  gradually  fell.  The 
storm  ceased.  The  sun  more  and  more  frequently  broke 
through  the  scudding  clouds.  We  were  traveling  upon 
a  high,  snow-covered  plateau,  where  in  one  place  the 
wind  blew  it  clean  and  in  another  piled  it  high  with 
drifts  which  caught  our  horses  and  held  them  so  that 
they  could  hardly  extricate  themselves  at  times.  We  had 
to  dismount  and  wade  through  the  white  piles  up  to 
our  waists  and  often  a  man  or  horse  was  down  and  had 


78  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

to  be  helped  to  his  feet.  At  last  the  descent  began  and 
at  sunset  we  stopped  in  the  small  larch  grove,  spent  the 
night  at  the  fire  among  the  trees  and  drank  the  tea  boiled 
in  the  water  carried  from  the  open  mountain  brook.  In 
various  places  we  came  across  the  tracks  of  our  recent 
antagonists. 

Everything,  even  Nature  herself  and  the  angry  demons 
of  Darkhat  Ola,  had  helped  us:  but  we  were  not  gay, 
because  again  before  us  lay  the  dread  uncertainty  that 
threatened  us  with  new  and  possibly  destructive  dangers. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE  RIVER  OF  THE  DEVIL 

T  TLAN  TAIGA  with  Darkhat  Ola  lay  behind  us.  We 
^^  went  forward  very  rapidly  because  the  Mongol 
plains  began  here,  free  from  the  impediments  of  moun- 
tains. Everywhere  splendid  grazing  lands  stretched 
away.  In  places  there  were  groves  of  larch.  We  crossed 
some  very  rapid  streams  but  they  were  not  deep  and 
they  had  hard  beds.  After  two  days  of  travel  over  the 
Darkhat  plain  we  began  meeting  Soyots  driving  their 
cattle  rapidly  toward  the  northwest  into  Orgarkha  Ola. 
They  communicated  to  us  very  unpleasant  news. 

The  Bolsheviki  from  the  Irkutsk  district  had  crossed 
the  Mongolian  border,  captured  the  Russian  colony  at 
Khathyl  on  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Kosogol  and 
turned  off  south  toward  Muren  Kure,  a  Russian  settle- 
ment beside  a  big  Lamaite  monastery  sixty  miles  south 
of  Kosogol.  The  Mongols  told  us  there  were  no  Russian 
troops  between  Khathyl  and  Muren  Kure,  so  we  decided 
to  pass  between  these  two  points  to  reach  Van  Kure 
farther  to  the  east.  We  took  leave  of  our  Soyot  guide 
and,  after  having  sent  three  scouts  in  advance,  moved 
forward.  From  the  mountains  around  the  Kosogol  we 
admired  the  splendid  view  of  this  broad  Alpine  lake. 
It  was  set  like  a  sapphire  in  the  old  gold  of  the  surround- 

79 


8o  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

# 
ing  hills,  chased  with  lovely  bits  of  rich  dark  forestry. 
At  night  we  approached  Khathyl  with  great  precaution 
and  stopped  on  the  shore  of  the  river  that  flows  from 
Kosogol,  the  Yaga  or  Egingol.  We  found  a  Mongol 
who  agreed  to  transport  us  to  the  other  bank  of  the 
frozen  stream  and  to  lead  us  by  a  safe  road  between 
Khathyl  and  Muren  Kure.  Everywhere  along  the  shore 
of  the  river  were  found  large  obo  and  small  shrines  to 
the  demons  of  the  stream. 

"Why  are  there  so  many  oho?*'  we  asked  the  Mongol. 

"It  is  the  River  of  the  Devil,  dangerous  and  crafty," 
replied  the  Mongol.  "Two  days  ago  a  train  of  carts 
went  through  the  ice  and  three  of  them  with  five  soldiers 
were  lost." 

We  started  to  cross.  The  surface  of  the  river 
resembled  a  thick  piece  of  looking-glass,  being  clear  and 
without  snow.  Our  horses  walked  very  carefully  but 
some  fell  and  floundered  before  they  could  regain  their 
feet.  We  were  leading  them  by  the  bridle.  With  bowed 
heads  and  trembling  all  over  they  kept  their  frightened 
eyes  ever  on  the  ice  at  their  feet.  I  looked  down  and 
understood  their  fear.  Through  the  cover  of  one  foot 
of  transparent  ice  one  could  clearly  see  the  bottom  of  the 
river.  Under  the  lighting  of  the  moon  all  the  stones, 
the  holes  and  even  some  of  the  grasses  were  distinctly 
visible,  even  though  the  depth  was  ten  metres  and  more. 
The  Yaga  rushed  under  the  ice  with  a  furious  speed, 
swirling  and  marking  its  course  with  long  bands  of  foam 
and  bubbles.  Suddenly  I  jumped  and  stopped  as  though 
fastened  to  the  spot.  Along  the  surface  of  the  river 
ran  the  boom  of  a  cannon,  followed  by  a  second  and  a 
third. 


THE  RIVER  OF  THE   DEVIL  8i 

"Quicker,  quicker!"  cried  our  Mongol,  waving  us  for- 
ward with  his  hand. 

Another  cannon  boom  and  a  crack  ran  right  close  to 
us.  The  horses  swung  back  on  their  haunches  in  pro- 
test, reared  and  fell,  many  of  them  striking  their  heads 
severely  on  the  ice.  In  a  second  it  opened  up  two  feet 
wide,  so  that  I  could  follow  its  jagged  course  along  the 
surface.  Immediately  up  out  of  the  opening  the  water 
spread  over  the  ice  with  a  rush. 

"Hurry,  hurry!"  shouted  the  guide. 

With  great  difficulty  we  forced  our  horses  to  jump 
over  this  cleavage  and  to  continue  on  further.  They 
trembled  and  disobeyed  and  only  the  strong  lash  forced 
them  to  forget  this  panic  of  fear  and  go  on. 

When  we  were  safe  on  the  farther  bank  and  well 
into  the  woods,  our  Mongol  guide  recounted  to  us  how 
the  river  at  times  opens  in  this  mysterious  way  and  leaves 
great  areas  of  clear  water.  All  the  men  and  animals  on 
the  river  at  such  times  must  perish.  The  furious  current 
of  cold  water  will  always  carry  them  down  under  the 
ice.  At  other  times  a  crack  has  been  known  to  pass 
rig^t  under  a  horse  and,  where  he  fell  in  with  his  front 
feet  in  the  attempt  to  get  back  to  the  other  side,  the 
crack  has  closed  up  and  ground  his  legs  or  feet  right 
off. 

The  valley  of  Kosogol  is  the  crater  of  an  extinct 
volcano.  Its  outlines  may  be  followed  from  the  high 
west  shore  of  the  lake.  However,  the  Plutonic  force 
still  acts  and,  asserting  the  glory  of  the  Devil,  forces 
the  Mongols  to  build  oho  and  offer  sacrifices  at  his 
shrines.  We  spent  all  the  night  and  all  the  next  day 
hurrying  away  eastward  to  avoid  a  meeting  with  tiie 


82  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

Reds  and  seeking  good  pasturage  for  our  horses.  At 
about  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  a  fire  shone  out  of  the 
distance.  My  friend  and  I  made  toward  it  with  the 
feeling  that  it  was  surely  a  Mongol  yurta  beside  which 
we  could  camp  in  safety.  We  traveled  over  a  mile  be- 
fore making  out  distinctly  the  lines  of  a  group  of  yurtas. 
But  nobody  came  out  to  meet  us  and,  what  astonished 
us  more,  we  were  not  surrounded  by  the  angry  black 
Mongolian  dogs  with  fiery  eyes.  Still,  from  the  distance 
we  had  seen  the  fire  and  so  there  must  be  someone  there. 
We  dismounted  from  our  horses  and  approached  on  foot. 
From  out  of  the  yurta  rushed  two  Russian  soldiers,  one 
of  whom  shot  at  me  with  his  pistol  but  missed  me  and 
wounded  my  horse  in  the  back  through  the  saddle.  I 
brought  him  to  earth  with  my  Mauser  and  the  other 
was  killed  by  the  butt  end  of  my  friend's  rifle.  We 
examined  the  bodies  and  found  in  their  pockets  the  papers 
of  soldiers  of  the  Second  Squadron  of  the  Communist 
Interior  Defence.  Here  we  spent  the  night.  The  owners 
of  the  yurtas  had  evidently  run  away,  for  the  Red  soldiers 
had  collected  and  packed  in  sacks  the  property  of  the 
Mongols.  Probably  they  were  just  planning  to  leave, 
as  they  were  fully  dressed.  We  acquired  two  horses, 
which  we  found  in  the  bushes,  two  rifles  and  two  auto- 
matic pistols  with  cartridges.  In  the  saddle  bags  we  also 
found  tea,  tobacco,  matches  and  cartridges — all  of  these 
valuable  supplies  to  help  us  keep  further  hold  on  our 
lives. 

Two  days  later  we  were  approaching  the  shore  of  the 
River  Uri  when  we  met  two  Russian  riders,  who  were 
the  Cossacks  of  a  certain  Ataman  Sutunin,  acting  against 
the  Bolshevik!  in  the  valley  of  the  River  Selenga.     They 


THE  RIVER  OF  THE   DEVIL  83 

were  riding  to  carry  a  message  from  Sutunin  to  Kaigoro- 
doff,  chief  of  the  Anti-Bolsheviki  in  the  Altai  region. 
They  informed  us  that  along  the  whole  Russian- 
Mongolian  border  the  Bolshevik  troops  were  scattered; 
also  that  Communist  agitators  had  penetrated  to 
Kiakhta,  Ulankom  and  Kobdo  and  had  persuaded  the 
Chinese  authorities  to  surrender  to  the  Soviet  authorities 
all  the  refugees  from  Russia.  We  knew  that  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Urga  and  Van  Kure  engagements  were 
taking  place  between  the  Chinese  troops  and  the  detach- 
ments of  the  Anti-Bolshevik  Russian  General  Baron 
Ungern  Sternberg  and  Colonel  Kazagrandi,  who  were 
fighting  for  the  independence  of  Outer  Mongolia.  Baron 
Ungern  had  now  been  twice  defeated,  so  that  the  Chinese 
were  carrying  on  high-handed  in  Urga,  suspecting  all 
foreigners  of  having  relations  with  the  Russian  General. 
We  realized  that  the  whole  situation  was  sharply  re- 
versed. The  route  to  the  Pacific  was  closed.  Reflecting 
very  carefully  over  the  problem,  I  decided  that  we  had 
but  one  possible  exit  left.  We  must  avoid  all  Mongolian 
cities  with  Chinese  administration,  cross  Mongolia  from 
north  to  south,  traverse  the  desert  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  Principality  of  Jassaktu  Khan,  enter  the  Gobi  in 
the  western  part  of  Inner  Mongolia,  strike  as  rapidly 
as  possible  through  sixty  miles  of  Chinese  territory  in 
the  Province  of  Kansu  and  penetrate  into  Tibet.  Here 
I  hoped  to  search  out  one  of  the  English  Consuls  and 
with  his  help  to  reach  some  English  port  in  India.  I 
understood  thoroughly  all  the  difficulties  incident  to  such 
an  enterprise  but  I  had  no  other  choice.  It  only  remained 
to  make  this  last  foolish  attempt  or  to  perish  without 
doubt  at  the  hands  of  the  Bolsheviki  or  languish  in  a 


84  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

Chinese  prison.  When  I  announced  my  plan  to  my  com- 
panions, without  in  any  way  hiding  from  them  all  its 
dangers  and  quixotism,  all  of  them  answered  very  quickly 
and  shortly:     "Lead  us!    We  will  follow." 

One  circumstance  was  distinctly  in  our  favor.  We 
did  not  fear  hunger,  for  we  had  some  supplies  of  tea, 
tobacco  and  matches  and  a  surplus  of  horses,  saddles, 
rifles,  overcoats  and  boots,  which  were  an  excellent  cur- 
rency for  exchange.  So  then  we  began  to  initiate  the 
plan  of  the  new  expedition.  We  should  start  to  the 
south,  leaving  the  town  of  Uliassutai  on  our  right  and 
taking  the  direction  of  Zaganluk,  then  pass  through  the 
waste  lands  of  the  district  of  Balir  of  Jassaktu  Khan, 
cross  the  Naron  Khuhu  Gobi  and  strike  for  the  moun- 
tains of  Boro.  Here  we  should  be  able  to  take  a  long 
rest  to  recuperate  the  strength  of  our  horses  and  of  our- 
selves. The  second  section  of  our  journey  would  be 
the  passage  through  the  western  part  of  Inner  Mongolia, 
through  the  Little  Gobi,  through  the  lands  of  the  Torguts, 
over  the  Khara  Mountains,  across  Kansu,  where  our  road 
must  be  chosen  to  the  west  of  the  Chinese  town  of 
Suchow.  From  there  we  should  have  to  enter  the  Domi- 
nion of  Kuku  Nor  and  then  work  on  southward  to  the 
head  waters  of  the  Yangtze  River.  Beyond  this  I  had 
but  a  hazy  notion,  which  however  I  was  able  to  verify 
from  a  map  of  Asia  in  the  possession  of  one  of  the 
oflficers,  to  the  effect  that  the  mountain  chains  to  the 
west  of  the  sources  of  the  Yangtze  separated  that  river 
system  from  the  basin  of  the  Brahmaputra  in  Tibet 
Proper,  where  I  expected  to  be  able  to  find  English 
assistance. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  MARCH  OF  GHOSTS 

TN  no  other  way  can  I  describe  the  journey  from  the 
"■•  River  Ero  to  the  border  of  Tibet.  About  eleven 
hundred  miles  through  the  snowy  steppes,  over  moun- 
tains and  across  deserts  we  traveled  in  forty-eight  days. 
We  hid  from  the  people  as  we  journeyed,  made  short 
stops  in  the  most  desolate  places,  fed  for  whole  weeks 
on  nothing  but  raw,  frozen  meat  in  order  to  avoid 
attracting  attention  by  the  smoke  of  fires.  Whenever 
we  needed  to  purchase  a  sheep  or  a  steer  for  our  supply 
department,  we  sent  out  only  two  unarmed  men  who 
represented  to  the  natives  that  they  were  the  workmen 
of  some  Russian  colonists.  We  even  feared  to  shoot, 
although  we  met  a  great  herd  of  antelopes  numbering 
as  many  as  five  thousand  head.  Behind  Balir  in  the  lands 
of  the  Lama  Jassaktu  Khan,  who  had  inherited  his  throne 
as  a  result  of  the  poisoning  of  his  brother  at  Urga  by 
order  of  the  Living  Buddha,  we  met  wandering  Russian 
Tartars  who  had  driven  their  herds  all  the  way  from 
Altai  and  Abakan,  They  welcomed  us  very  cordially, 
gave  us  oxen  and  thirty-six  bricks  of  tea.  Also  they 
saved  us  from  inevitable  destruction,  for  they  told  us 
that  at  this  season  it  was  utterly  impossible  for  horses 
to  make  the  trip  across  the  Gobi,  where  there  was  no 
grass  at  all.     We  must  buy  camels  by  exchanging  for 

85 


86  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

them  our  horses  and  some  other  of  our  bartering  sup- 
pHes.  One  of  the  Tartars  the  next  day  brought  to  their 
camp  a  rich  Mongol  with  whom  he  drove  the  bargain 
for  this  trade.  He  gave  us  nineteen  camels  and  took  all 
our  horses,  one  rifle,  one  pistol  and  the  best  Cossack 
saddle.  He  advised  us  by  all  means  to  visit  the  sacred 
Monastery  of  Narabanchi,  the  last  Lamaite  monastery 
on  the  road  from  Mongolia  to  Tibet.  He  told  us  that 
the  Holy  Hutuktu,  "the  Incarnate  Buddha,"  would  be 
greatly  offended  if  we  did  not  visit  the  monastery  and 
his  famous  "Shrine  of  Blessings,"  where  all  travelers 
going  to  Tibet  always  offered  prayers.  Our  Kalmuck 
Lamaite  supported  the  Mongol  in  this.  I  decided  to  go 
there  with  the  Kalmuck.  The  Tartars  gave  me  some  big 
silk  hatyk  as  presents  and  loaned  us  four  splendid  horses. 
Although  the  monastery  was  fifty-five  miles  distant,  by 
nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  I  entered  the  yurta  of  this 
holy  Hutuktu. 

He  was  a  middle-aged,  clean  shaven,  spare  little  man, 
laboring  under  the  name  of  Jelyb  Djamsrap  Hutuktu. 
He  received  us  very  cordially  and  was  greatly  pleased 
with  the  presentation  of  the  liatyk  and  with  my  knowl- 
edge of  the  Mongol  etiquette  in  which  my  Tartar  had 
been  long  and  persistently  instructing  me.  He  listened 
to  me  most  attentively  and  gave  valuable  advice  about  the 
road,  presenting  me  then  with  a  ring  which  has  since 
opened  for  me  the  doors  of  all  Lamaite  monasteries.  The 
name  of  this  Hutuktu  is  highly  esteemed  not  only  in  all 
Mongolia  but  in  Tibet  and  in  the  Lamaite  world  of 
China.  We  spent  the  night  in  his  splendid  yurta  and 
on  the  following  morning  visited  the  shrines  where  they 
were  conducting  very  solemn  services  with  the  music 


THE   MARCH  OF  GHOSTS  87 

of  gongs,  tom-toms  and  whistling.  The  Lamas  with  their 
deep  voices  were  intoning  the  prayers  while  the  lesser 
priests  answered  with  their  antiphonies.  The  sacred 
phrase:  "Om!  Mani  padme  Hung!"  was  endlessly  re- 
peated. 

The  Hutuktu  wished  us  success,  presented  us  with  a 
large  yellow  hatyk  and  accompanied  us  to  the  monastery 
gate.    When  we  were  in  our  saddles  he  said: 

"Remember  that  you  are  always  welcome  guests  here. 
Life  is  very  complicated  and  anything  may  happen.  Per- 
haps you  will  be  forced  in  future  to  re-visit  distant 
Mongolia  and  then  do  not  miss  Narabanchi  Kure." 

That  night  we  returned  to  the  Tartars  and  the  next 
day  continued  our  journey.  As  I  was  very  tired,  the 
slow,  easy  motion  of  the  camel  was  welcome  and  restful 
to  me.  All  the  day  I  dozed  off  at  intervals  to  sleep.  It 
turned  out  to  be  very  disastrous  for  me;  for,  when  my 
camel  was  going  up  the  steep  bank  of  a  river,  in  one 
of  my  naps  I  fell  off  and  hit  my  head  on  a  stone,  lost 
consciousness  and  woke  up  to  find  my  overcoat  covered 
with  blood.  My  friends  surrounded  me  with  their 
frightened  faces.  They  bandaged  my  head  and  we 
started  off  again.  I  only  learned  long  afterwards  from 
a  doctor  who  examined  me  that  I  had  cracked  my  skull 
as  the  price  of  my  siesta. 

We  crossed  the  eastern  ranges  of  the  Altai  and  the 
Karlik  Tag,  which  are  the  most  oriental  sentinels  the 
great  Tian  Shan  system  throws  out  into  the  regions  of 
the  Gobi ;  and  then  traversed  from  the  north  to  the  south 
the  entire  width  of  the  Khuhu  Gobi.  Intense  cold  ruled 
all  this  time  and  fortunately  the  frozen  sands  gave  us 
better  speed.     Before  passing  the  Khara  range,  we  ex- 


88  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

changed  our  rocking-chair  steeds  for  horses,  a  deal  in 
which  the  Torguts  skinned  us  badly  like  the  true  "old 
clothes  men"  they  are. 

Skirting  around  these  mountains  we  entered  Kansu. 
It  was  a  dangerous  move,  for  the  Chinese  were  arresting 
all  refugees  and  I  feared  for  my  Russian  fellow-travelers. 
During  the  days  we  hid  in  the  ravines,  the  forests  and 
bushes,  making  forced  marches  at  night.  Four  days  we 
thus  used  in  this  passage  of  Kansu.  The  few  Chinese 
peasants  we  did  encounter  were  peaceful  appearing  and 
most  hospitable.  A  marked  sympathetic  interest  sur- 
rounded the  Kalmuck,  who  could  speak  a  bit  of  Chinese, 
and  my  box  of  medicines.  Everywhere  we  found  many 
ill  people,  chiefly  afflicted  with  eye  troubles,  rheumatism 
and  skin  diseases. 

As  we  were  approaching  Nan  Shan,  the  northeast 
branch  of  the  Altyn  Tag  (which  is  in  turn  the  east 
branch  of  the  Paminand  Karakhorum  system),  we  over- 
hauled a  large  caravan  of  Chinese  merchants  going  to 
Tibet  and  joined  them.  For  three  days  we  were  wind- 
ing through  the  endless  ravine-like  valleys  of  these  moun- 
tains and  ascending  the  high  passes.  But  we  noticed 
that  the  Chinese  knew  how  to  pick  the  easiest  routes 
for  caravans  over  all  these  difficult  places.  In  a  state  of 
semi-consciousness  I  made  this  whole  journey  toward  the 
large  group  of  swampy  lakes,  feeding  the  Koko  Nor 
and  a  whole  network  of  large  rivers.  From  fatigue  and 
constant  nervous  strain,  probably  helped  by  the  blow 
on  my  head,  I  began  suffering  from  sharp  attacks  of 
chills  and  fever,  burning  up  at  times  and  then  chatter- 
ing so  with  my  teeth  that  I  frightened  my  horse  who 
several  times  threw  mc  from  the  saddle.     I  raved,  cried 


THE  MARCH  OF  GHOSTS  89 

out  at  times  and  even  wept.  I  called  my  family  and 
instructed  them  how  they  must  come  to  me.  I  remember 
as  though  through  a  dream  how  I  was  taken  from  the 
horse  by  my  companions,  laid  on  the  ground,  supplied 
with  Chinese  brandy  and,  when  I  recovered  a  little,  how 
they  said  to  me: 

"The  Chinese  merchants  are  heading  for  the  west  and 
we  must  travel  south." 

"No!     To  the  north,"  I  replied  very  sharply. 

"But  no,  to  the  south,"  my  companions  assured  me. 

"God  and  the  Devil!"  I  angrily  ejaculated,  "we  have 
just  swum  the  Little  Yenisei  and  Algyak  is  to  the  north !" 

"We  are  in  Tibet,"  remonstrated  my  companions. 
"We  must  reach  the  Brahmaputra." 

Brahmaputra.  .  .  .  Brahmaputra.  .  .  .  This  word  re- 
volved in  my  fiery  brain,  made  a  terrible  noise  and 
commotion.  Suddenly  I  remembered  everything  and 
opened  my  eyes.  I  hardly  moved  my  lips  and  soon  I 
again  lost  consciousness.  My  companions  brought  me 
to  the  monastery  of  Sharkhe,  where  the  Lama  doctor 
quickly  brought  me  round  with  a  solution  of  fatil  or 
Chinese  ginseng.  In  discussing  our  plans  he  expressed 
grave  doubt  as  to  whether  we  would  get  through  Tibet 
but  he  did  not  wish  to  explain  to  me  the  reason  for  his 
doubts. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

IN  MYSTERIOUS  TIBET 

A  FAIRLY  broad  road  led  out  from  Sharkhe  through 
■^  ^  the  mountains  and  on  the  fifth  day  of  our  two  weeks' 
march  to  the  south  from  the  monastery  we  emerged 
into  the  great  bowl  of  the  mountains  in  whose  center 
lay  the  large  lake  of  Koko  Nor.  If  Finland  deserves 
the  ordinary  title  of  the  "Land  of  Ten  Thousand  Lakes," 
the  dominion  of  Koko  Nor  may  certainly  with  justice 
be  called  the  "Country  of  a  Million  Lakes."  We  skirted 
this  lake  on  the  west  between  it  and  Doulan  Kitt,  zig- 
zagging between  the  numerous  swamps,  lakes  and  small 
rivers,  deep  and  miry.  The  water  was  not  here  covered 
with  ice  and  only  on  the  tops  of  the  mountains  did  we 
feel  the  cold  winds  sharply.  We  rarely  met  the  natives 
of  the  country  and  only  with  greatest  difficulty  did  our 
Kalmuck  learn  the  course  of  the  road  from  the  occasional 
shepherds  we  passed.  From  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
Lake  of  Tassoun  we  worked  round  to  a  monastery  on 
the  further  side,  where  we  stopped  for  a  short  rest.  Be- 
sides ourselves  there  was  also  another  group  of  guests 
in  the  holy  place.  These  were  Tibetans.  Their  behavior 
was  very  impertinent  and  they  refused  to  speak  with 
us.  They  were  all  armed,  chiefly  with  the  Russian 
military  rifles  and  were  draped  with  crossed  bandoliers 
of  cartridges  with  two  or  three  pistols  stowed  beneath 

90 


IN   MYSTERIOUS  TIBET  91 

belts  with  more  cartridges  sticking  out.  They  examined 
us  very  sharply  and  we  readily  realized  that  they  were 
estimating  our  martial  strength.  After  they  had  left 
on  that  same  day  I  ordered  our  Kalmuck  to  inquire  from 
the  High  Priest  of  the  temple  exactly  who  they  were. 
For  a  long  time  the  monk  gave  evasive  answers  but  when 
I  showed  him  the  ring  of  Hutuktu  Narabanchi  and  pre- 
sented him  with  a  large  yellow  hatyk,  he  became  more 
communicative. 

"Those  are  bad  people,"  he  explained.  "Have  a  care 
of  them." 

However,  he  was  not  willing  to  give  their  names,  ex- 
plaining his  refusal  by  citing  the  Law  of  Buddhist  lands 
against  pronouncing  the  name  of  one's  father,  teacher 
or  chief.  Afterwards  I  found  out  that  in  North  Tibet 
there  exists  the  same  custom  as  in  North  China.  Here 
and  there  bands  of  hiinghutse  wander  about.  They 
appear  at  the  headquarters  of  the  leading  trading  firms 
and  at  the  monasteries,  claim  tribute  and  after  their 
collections  become  the  protectors  of  the  district.  Prob- 
ably this  Tibetan  monastery  had  in  this  band  just  such 
protectors. 

When  we  continued  our  trip,  we  frequently  noticed 
single  horsemen  far  away  or  on  the  horizon,  apparently 
studying  our  movements  with  care.  All  our  attempts  to 
approach  them  and  enter  into  conversation  with  them 
were  entirely  unsuccessful.  On  their  speedy  little  horses 
they  disappeared  like  shadows.  As  we  reached  the  steep 
and  difficult  Pass  on  the  Hamshan  and  were  preparing 
to  spend  the  night  there,  suddenly  far  up  on  a  ridge 
above  us  appeared  about  forty  horsemen  with  entirely 
white  mounts  and  without  formal  introduction  or  warn- 


92  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

ing  spattered  us  with  a  hail  of  bullets.  Two  of  our 
officers  fell  with  a  cry.  One  had  been  instantly  killed 
while  the  other  lived  some  few  minutes.  I  did  not  allow 
my  men  to  shoot  but  instead  I  raised  a  white  flag  and 
started  forward  with  the  Kalmuck  for  a  parley.  At 
first  they  fired  two  shots  at  us  but  then  ceased  firing 
and  sent  down  a  group  of  riders  from  the  ridge  toward 
us.  We  began  the  parley.  The  Tibetans  explained  that 
Hamshan  is  a  holy  mountain  and  that  here  one  must  not 
spend  the  night,  advising  us  to  proceed  farther  where 
we  could  consider  ourselves  in  safety.  They  inquired 
from  us  whence  we  came  and  whither  we  were  going, 
stated  in  answer  to  our  information  about  the  purpose 
of  our  journey  that  they  knew  the  Bolsheviki  and  con- 
sidered them  the  liberators  of  the  people  of  Asia  from 
the  yoke  of  the  white  race.  I  certainly  did  not  want  to 
begin  a  political  quarrel  with  them  and  so  turned  back 
to  our  companions.  Riding  down  the  slope  toward  our 
camp,  I  waited  momentarily  for  a  shot  in  the  back  but 
the  Tibetan  hiinghiitze  did  not  shoot. 

We  moved  forward,  leaving  among  the  stones  the 
bodies  of  two  of  our  companions  as  sad  tribute  to  the 
difficulties  and  dangers  of  our  journey.  We  rode  all 
night,  with  our  exhausted  horses  constantly  stopping  and 
some  lying  down  under  us,  but  we  forced  them  ever 
onward.  At  last,  when  the  sun  was  at  its  zenith,  we 
finally  halted.  Without  unsaddling  our  horses,  we  gave 
them  an  opportunity  to  lie  down  for  a  little  rest.  Be- 
fore us  lay  a  broad,  swampy  plain,  where  was  evidently 
the  sources  of  the  river  Ma-chu.  Not  far  beyond  lay 
the  Lake  of  Aroung  Nor.  We  made  our  fire  of  cattle 
dung  and  began  boiling  water  for  our  tea.     Again  with- 


IN   MYSTERIOUS  TIBET  93 

out  any  warning  the  bullets  came  raining  in  from  all 
sides.  Immediately  we  took  cover  behind  convenient 
rocks  and  waited  developments.  The  firing  became 
faster  and  closer,  the  raiders  appeared  on  the  whole  circle 
round  us  and  the  bullets  came  ever  in  increasing  numbers. 
We  had  fallen  into  a  trap  and  had  no  hope  but  to  perish. 
We  realized  this  clearly.  I  tried  anew  to  begin  the 
parley;  but  when  I  stood  up  with  my  white  flag,  the 
answer  was  only  a  thicker  rain  of  bullets  and  unfortu- 
nately one  of  these,  ricocheting  off  a  rock,  struck  me  in 
the  left  leg  and  lodged  there.  At  the  same  moment 
another  one  of  our  company  was  killed.  We  had  no 
other  choice  and  were  forced  to  begin  fighting.  The 
struggle  continued  for  about  two  hours.  Besides  myself 
three  others  received  slight  wounds.  We  resisted  as 
long  as  we  could.  The  hunghutse  approached  and  our 
situation  became  desperate. 

"There's  no  choice,"  said  one  of  my  associates,  a  very 
expert  Colonel.  "We  must  mount  and  ride  for  it.  .  . 
anywhere." 

"Anywhere.  ..."  It  was  a  terrible  word !  We  con- 
sulted for  but  an  instant.  It  was  apparent  that  with 
this  band  of  cut-throats  behind  us  the  farther  we  went 
into  Tibet,  the  less  chance  we  had  of  saving  our  lives. 

We  decided  to  return  to  Mongolia.  But  how  ?  That 
we  did  not  know.  And  thus  we  began  our  retreat.  Fir- 
ing all  the  time,  we  trotted  our  horses  as  fast  as  we 
could  toward  the  north.  One  after  another  three  of 
my  companions  fell.  There  lay  my  Tartar  with  a  bullet 
through  his  neck.  After  him  two  young  and  fine  stalwart 
officers  were  carried  from  their  saddles  with  cries  of 
death,  while  their  scared  horses  broke  out  across  the 


94  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

plain  In  wild  fear,  perfect  pictures  of  our  distraught 
selves.  This  emboldened  the  Tibetans,  who  became  more 
and  more  audacious.  A  bullet  struck  the  buckle  on  the 
ankle  strap  of  my  right  foot  and  carried  it,  with  a  piece 
of  leather  and  cloth,  into  my  leg  just  above  the  ankle. 
My  old  and  much  tried  friend,  the  agronome,  cried  out 
as  he  grasped  his  shoulder  and  then  I  saw  him  wiping 
and  bandaging  as  best  as  he  could  his  bleeding  forehead. 
A  second  afterward  our  Kalmuck  was  hit  twice  right 
through  the  palm  of  the  same  hand,  so  that  it  was  entirely 
shattered.  Just  at  this  moment  fifteen  of  the  himghutse 
rushed  against  us  in  a  charge. 

"Shoot  at  them  with  volley  fire!"  commanded  our 
Colonel. 

Six  robber  bodies  lay  on  the  turf,  while  two  others 
of  the  gang  were  unhorsed  and  ran  scampering  as  fast 
as  they  could  after  their  retreating  fellows.  Several 
minutes  later  the  fire  of  our  antagonists  ceased  and  they 
raised  a  white  flag.  Two  riders  came  forward  toward 
us.  In  the  parley  it  developed  that  their  chief  had  been 
wounded  through  the  chest  and  they  came  to  ask  us 
to  "render  first  aid."  At  once  I  saw  a  ray  of  hope.  I 
took  my  box  of  medicines  and  my  groaning,  cursing, 
wounded  Kalmuck  to  interpret  for  me. 

"Give  that  devil  some  cyanide  of  potassium,"  urged 
my  companions. 

But  I  devised  another  scheme. 

We  were  led  to  the  wounded  chief.  There  he  lay 
on  the  saddle  cloths  among  the  rocks,  represented  to 
us  to  be  a  Tibetan  but  I  at  once  recognized  him  from  his 
cast  of  countenance  to  be  a  Sart  or  Turcoman,  probably 
from  the  southern  part  of  Turkestan.     He  looked  at  me 


IN   MYSTERIOUS  TIBET  95 

with  a  begging  and  frightened  gaze.  Examining  him, 
I  found  the  bullet  had  passed  through  his  chest  from  left 
to  right,  that  he  had  lost  much  blood  and  was  very 
weak.  Conscientiously  I  did  all  that  I  could  for  him. 
In  the  first  place  I  tried  on  my  own  tongue  all  the 
medicines  to  be  used  on  him,  even  the  iodoform,  in  order 
to  demonstrate  that  there  was  no  poison  among  them. 
I  cauterized  the  wound  with  iodine,  sprinkled  it  with 
iodoform  and  applied  the  bandages.  I  ordered  that  the 
wounded  man  be  not  touched  nor  moved  and  that  he  be 
left  right  where  he  lay.  Then  I  taught  a  Tibetan  how 
the  dressing  must  be  changed  and  left  with  him  medicated 
cotton,  bandages  and  a  little  iodoform.  To  the  patient, 
in  whom  the  fever  was  already  developing,  I  gave  a  big 
dose  of  aspirin  and  left  several  tablets  of  quinine  with 
them.  Afterwards,  addressing  myself  to  the  bystanders 
through  my  Kalmuck,  I  said  very  solemnly: 

"The  wound  is  very  dangerous  but  I  gave  to  your 
Chief  very  strong  medicine  and  hope  that  he  will  recover. 
One  condition,  however,  is  necessary:  the  bad  demons 
which  have  rushed  to  his  side  for  his  unwarranted  attack 
upon  us  innocent  travelers  will  instantly  kill  him,  if  an- 
other shot  is  let  off  against  us.  You  must  not  even  keep 
a  single  cartridge  in  your  rifles." 

With  these  words  I  ordered  the  Kalmuck  to  empty 
his  rifle  and  I,  at  the  same  time,  took  all  the  cartridges 
out  of  my  ]\Iauser.  The  Tibetans  instantly  and  very 
servilely  followed  my  example. 

"Remember  that  I  told  you :  'Eleven  days  and  eleven 
nights  do  not  move  from  this  place  and  do  not  charge 
your  rifles.'  Otherwise  the  demon  of  death  will  snatch 
off  your  Chief  and  will  pursue  you!" — and  with  these 


96  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

words  I  solemnly  drew  forth  and  raised  above  their  heads 
the  ring  of  Hutuktu  Narabanchi. 

I  returned  to  my  companions  and  calmed  them.  I  told 
them  we  were  safe  against  further  attack  from  the  rob- 
bers and  that  we  must  only  guess  the  way  to  reach  Mon- 
golia. Our  horses  were  so  exhausted  and  thin  that  on 
their  bones  we  could  have  hung  our  overcoats.  We  spent 
two  days  here,  during  which  time  I  frequently  visited 
my  patient.  It  also  gave  us  opportunity  to  bandage  our 
own  fortunately  light  wounds  and  to  secure  a  little  rest ; 
though  unfortunately  I  had  nothing  but  a  jackknife  with 
which  to  dig  the  bullet  out  of  my  left  calf  and  the  shoe- 
maker's accessories  from  my  right  ankle.  Inquiring  from 
the  brigands  about  the  caravan  roads,  we  soon  made 
our  way  out  to  one  of  the  main  routes  and  had  the  good 
fortune  to  meet  there  the  caravan  of  the  young  Mongol 
Prince  Pounzig,  who  was  on  a  holy  mission  carrying 
a  message  from  the  Living  Buddha  in  Urga  to  the  Dalai 
Lama  in  Lhasa.  He  helped  us  to  purchase  horses, 
camels  and  food. 

With  all  our  arms  and  supplies  spent  in  barter  during 
the  journey  for  the  purchase  of  transport  and  food,  we 
returned  stripped  and  broken  to  the  Narabanchi  Mon- 
astery, where  we  were  welcomed  by  the  Hutuktu. 

"I  knew  you  would  come  back,"  said  he.  "The  divin- 
ations revealed  it  all  to  me." 

With  six  of  our  little  band  left  behind  us  in  Tibet  to 
pay  the  eternal  toll  of  our  dash  for  the  south  we  returned 
but  twelve  to  the  Monastery  and  waited  there  two  weeks 
to  re-adjust  ourselves  and  learn  how  events  would  again 
set  us  afloat  on  this  turbulent  sea  to  steer  for  any  port 
that  Destiny  might  indicate.    The  officers  enlisted  in  the 


IN  MYSTERIOUS  TIBET  97 

detachment  which  was  then  being  formed  in  Mongolia  to 
fight  against  the  destroyers  of  their  native  land,  the  Bol- 
sheviki.  My  original  companion  and  I  prepared  to  con- 
tinue our  journey  over  Mongolian  plains  with  whatever 
further  adventures  and  dangers  might  come  in  the 
struggle  to  escape  to  a  place  of  safety. 

And  now,  with  the  scenes  of  that  trying  march  so  viv- 
idly recalled,  I  would  dedicate  these  chapters  to  my  gi- 
gantic, old  and  ruggedly  tried  friend,  the  agronome,  to 
my  Russian  fellow-travelers,  and  especially,  to  the  sacred 
memory  of  those  of  our  companions  whose  bodies  lie 
cradled  in  the  sleep  among  the  mountains  of  Tibet — Col- 
onel Ostrovsky,  Captains  Zuboff  and  Turoff,  Lieutenant 
Pisarjevsky,  Cossack  Vernigora  and  Tartar  Mahomed 
Spirin.  Also  here  I  express  my  deep  thanks  for  help  and 
friendship  to  the  Prince  of  Soldjak,  Hereditary  Noyon 
Ta  Lama  and  to  the  Kampo  Gelong  of  Narabanchi  Mon- 
astery, the  honorable  Jelyb  Djamsrap  Hutuktu. 


Part  II 
THE  LAND  OF  DEMONS 


Part   II 
THE  LAND  OF  DEMONS 


CHAPTER  XVII 

MYSTERIOUS  MONGOLIA 

T  N  the  heart  of  Asia  lies  the  enormous,  mysterious  and 
•*-  rich  country  of  MongoUa.  From  somewhere  on  the 
snowy  slopes  of  the  Tian  Shan  and  from  the  hot  sands 
of  Western  Zungaria  to  the  timbered  ridges  of  the  Sayan 
and  to  the  Great  Wall  of  China  it  stretches  over  a  huge 
portion  of  Central  Asia.  The  cradle  of  peoples,  his- 
tories and  legends ;  the  native  land  of  bloody  conquerors, 
who  have  left  here  their  capitals  covered  by  the  sand  of 
the  Gobi,  their  mysterious  rings  and  their  ancient  nomad 
laws;  the  states  of  monks  and  evil  devils,  the  country  of 
wandering  tribes  administered  by  the  descendants  of 
Jenghiz  Khan  and  Kublai  Khan — Khans  and  Princes  of 
the  Junior  lines:  that  is  Mongolia. 

Mysterious  country  of  the  cults  of  Rama,  Sakkia- 
Mouni,  Djonkapa  and  Paspa,  cults  guarded  by  the  very 
person  of  the  living  Buddha — Buddha  incarnated  in  the 
third  dignitary  of  the  Lamaite  religion — Bogdo  Gheghen 
in  Ta  Kure  or  Urga;  the  land  of  mysterious  doctors, 

lOI 


I02  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

prophets,  sorcerers,  fortune-tellers  and  witches;  the  land 
of  the  sign  of  the  swastika;  the  land  which  has  not  for- 
gotten the  thoughts  of  the  long  deceased  great  potentates 
of  Asia  and  of  half  of  Europe:  that  is  Mongolia. 

The  land  of  nude  mountains,  of  plains  burned  by  the 
sun  and  killed  by  the  cold,  of  ill  cattle  and  ill  people ;  the 
nest  of  pests,  anthrax  and  smallpox;  the  land  of  boiling 
hot  springs  and  of  mountain  passes  inhabited  by  demons; 
of  sacred  lakes  swarming  with  fish ;  of  wolves,  rare  spe- 
cies of  deer  and  mountain  goats,  marmots  in  millions, 
wild  horses,  wild  donkeys  and  wild  camels  that  have 
never  known  the  bridle,  ferocious  dogs  and  rapacious 
birds  of  prey  which  devour  the  dead  bodies  cast  out  on  the 
plains  by  the  people:  that  is  Mongolia. 

The  land  whose  disappearing  primitive  people  gaze 
upon  the  bones  of  their  forefathers  whitening  in  the 
sands  and  dust  of  their  plains;  where  are  dying  out  the 
people  who  formerly  conquered  China,  Siam,  Northern 
India  and  Russia  and  broke  their  chests  against  the  iron 
lances  of  the  Polish  knights,  defending  then  all  the  Chris- 
tian world  against  the  invasion  of  wild  and  wandering 
Asia :  that  is  Mongolia. 

The  land  swelling  with  natural  riches,  producing  noth- 
ing, in  need  of  everything,  destitute  and  suffering  from 
the  world's  cataclysm:  that  is  Mongolia. 

In  this  land,  by  order  of  Fate,  after  my  unsuccessful 
attempt  to  reach  the  Indian  Ocean  through  Tibet,  I  spent 
half  a  year  in  the  struggle  to  live  and  to  escape.  My  old 
and  faithful  friend  and  I  were  compelled,  willy-nilly,  to 
participate  in  the  exceedingly  important  and  dangerous 
events  transpiring  in  Mongolia  in  the  year  of  grace  1921. 
Thanks  to  this,  I  came  to  know  the  calm,  good  and  honest 


MYSTERIOUS  MONGOLIA  103 

Mongolian  people ;  I  read  their  souls,  saw  their  sufferings 
and  hopes;  I  witnessed  the  whole  horror  of  their  oppres- 
sion and  fear  before  the  face  of  Mystery,  there  where 
Mystery  pervades  all  Hfe.  I  watched  the  rivers  during 
the  severe  cold  break  with  a  rumbling  roar  their  chains 
of  ice;  saw  lakes  cast  up  on  their  shores  the  bones  of 
human  beings;  heard  unknown  wild  voices  in  tlie  moun- 
tain ravines ;  made  out  the  fires  over  miry  swamps  of  the 
will-o'-the-wisps ;  witnessed  burning  lakes ;  gazed  upward 
to  mountains  whose  peaks  could  not  be  scaled;  came 
across  great  balls  of  writhing  snakes  in  the  ditches  in 
winter;  met  with  streams  which  are  eternally  frozen, 
rocks  like  petrified  caravans  of  camels,  horsemen  and 
carts ;  and  over  all  saw  the  barren  mountains  whose  folds 
looked  like  the  mantle  of  Satan,  which  the  glow  of  the 
evening  sun  drenched  with  blood. 

"Look  up  there!"  cried  an  old  shepherd,  pointing  to 
the  slope  of  the  cursed  Zagastai.  "That  is  no  mountain. 
It  is  he  who  lies  in  his  red  mantle  and  awaits  the  day 
when  he  will  rise  again  to  begin  the  fight  with  the  good 
spirits." 

And  as  he  spoke  I  recalled  the  mystic  picture  of  the 
noted  painter  Vroubel.  The  same  nude  mountains  with 
the  violet  and  purple  robes  of  Satan,  whose  face  is  half 
covered  by  an  approaching  grey  cloud.  Mongolia  is  a 
terrible  land  of  mystery  and  demons.  Therefore  it  is 
no  wonder  that  here  every  violation  of  the  ancient  order 
of  life  of  the  wandering  nomad  tribes  is  transformed  into 
streams  of  red  blood  and  horror,  ministering  to  tiie  de- 
monic pleasure  of  Satan  couched  on  the  bare  mountains 
and  robed  in  the  grey  cloak  of  dejection  and  sadness,  or  in 
the  purple  mantle  of  war  and  vengeance. 


I04  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

After  returning  from  the  district  of  Koko  Nor  to 
Mongolia  and  resting  a  few  days  at  the  Narabanchi  Mon- 
astery, we  went  to  Hve  in  Uliassutai,  the  capital  of 
Western  Outer  Mongolia.  It  is  the  last  purely  Mongolian 
town  to  the  west.  In  Mongolia  there  are  but  three  purely 
Mongolian  towns,  Urga,  Uliassutai  and  Ulankom.  The 
fourth  town,  Kobdo,  has  an  essentially  Chinese  character, 
being  the  center  of  Chinese  administration  in  tliis  district 
inhabited  by  the  wandering  tribes  only  nominally  recog- 
nizing the  influence  of  either  Peking  or  Urga.  In  Uli- 
assutai and  Ulankom,  besides  the  unlawful  Chinese  com- 
missioners and  troops,  there  were  stationed  Mongolian 
governors  or  "Saits,"  appointed  by  the  decree  of  the 
Living  Buddha. 

When  we  arrived  in  that  town,  we  were  at  once  in  the 
sea  of  political  passions.  The  Mongols  were  protesting 
in  great  agitation  against  the  Chinese  policy  in  their 
country ;  the  Chinese  raged  and  demanded  from  the  Mon- 
golians the  payment  of  taxes  for  the  full  period  since 
the  autonomy  of  Mongolia  had  been  forcibly  extracted 
from  Peking;  Russian  colonists  who  had  years  before 
settled  near  the  town  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  great 
monasteries  or  among  the  wandering  tribes  had  separated 
into  factions  and  were  fighting  against  one  another;  from 
Urga  came  the  news  of  the  struggle  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  independence  of  Outer  Mongolia,  led  by  the  Rus- 
sian General,  Baron  Ungern  von  Sternberg;  Russian 
officers  and  refugees  congregated  in  detachments,  against 
which  the  Chinese  authorities  protested  but  which  the 
Mongols  welcomed;  the  Bolsheviki,  worried  by  the  for- 
mation of  White  detachments  in  Mongolia,  sent  their 
troops  to  the  borders  of  Mongolia;  from   Irkutsk  and 


MYSTERIOUS  MONGOLIA  105 

Chita  to  Uliassutai  and  Urga  envoys  were  running  from 
the  Bolsheviki  to  the  Chinese  commissioners  with  various 
proposals  of  all  kinds;  the  Chinese  authorities  in  Mon- 
golia were  gradually  entering  into  secret  relations  with 
the  Bolsheviki  and  in  Kiakhta  and  Ulankom  delivered 
to  them  the  Russian  refugees,  thus  violating  recognized 
international  law;  in  Urga  the  Bolsheviki  set  up  a  Rus- 
sian communistic  municipality ;  Russian  Consuls  were  in- 
active ;  Red  troops  in  the  region  of  Kosogol  and  the  val- 
ley of  the  Selenga  had  encounters  with  Anti-Bolshevik 
officers;  the  Chinese  authorities  established  garrisons  in 
the  Mongolian  towns  and  sent  punitive  expeditions  into 
the  country ;  and,  to  complete  the  confusion,  the  Chinese 
troops  carried  out  house-to-house  searches,  during  which 
they  plundered  and  stole. 

Into  what  an  atmosphere  we  had  fallen  after  our  hard 
and  dangerous  trip  along  the  Yenisei,  through  Urianhai, 
Mongolia,  the  lands  of  the  Turguts,  Kansu  and  Koko 
Nor! 

"Do  you  know,"  said  my  old  friend  to  me,  "I  prefer 
strangling  Partisans  and  fighting  with  the  hunghutze  to 
listening  to  news  and  more  anxious  news!" 

He  was  right;  for  the  worst  of  it  was  that  in  this 
bustle  and  whirl  of  facts,  rumours  and  gossip  the  Reds 
could  approach  troubled  Uliassutai  and  take  everyone 
with  their  bare  hands.  We  should  very  willingly  have 
left  this  town  of  uncertainties  but  we  had  no  place  to 
go.  In  the  north  were  the  hostile  Partisans  and  Red 
troops ;  to  the  south  we  had  already  lost  our  companions 
and  not  a  little  of  our  own  blood ;  to  the  west  raged  the 
Chinese  administrators  and  detachments ;  and  to  the  ea*t 
6.  war  had  broken  out.  the  news  of  which,  in  spite  of  the 


io6  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

attempts  of  the  Chinese  authorities  at  secrecy,  had  filtered 
through  and  had  testified  to  the  seriousness  of  the  situa- 
tion in  this  part  of  Outer  MongoUa.  Consequently  we 
had  no  choice  but  to  remain  in  Uliassutai.  Here  also 
were  living  several  Polish  soldiers  who  had  escaped  from 
the  prison  camps  in  Russia,  two  Polish  families  and  two 
American  firms,  all  in  the  same  plight  as  ourselves.  We 
joined  together  and  made  our  own  intelligence  depart- 
ment, very  carefully  watching  the  evolution  of  events. 
We  succeeded  in  forming  good  connections  with  the 
Chinese  commissioner  and  with  the  Mongolian  Salt, 
which  greatly  helped  us  in  our  orientation. 

What  was  behind  all  these  events  in  Mongolia?  The 
very  clever  Mongol  Salt  of  Uliassutai  gave  me  the  follow- 
ing explanation. 

"According  to  the  agreements  between  Mongolia, 
China  and  Russia  of  October  21,  1912,  of  October  23, 
1913,  and  of  June  7,  191 5,  Outer  Mongolia  was  accorded 
independence  and  the  Moral  Head  of  our  'Yellow  Faith,' 
His  Holiness  the  Living  Buddha,  became  the  Suzerain  of 
the  Mongolian  people  of  Khalkha  or  Outer  Mongolia 
with  the  title  of  'Bogdo  Djebtsung  Damba  Hutuktu 
Khan.'  While  Russia  was  still  strong  and  carefully 
watched  her  policy  in  Asia,  the  Government  of  Peking 
kept  the  treaty;  but,  when,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war 
with  Germany,  Russia  was  compelled  to  withdraw  her 
troops  from  Siberia,  Peking  began  to  claim  the  return 
of  its  lost  rights  in  Mongolia.  It  was  because  of  this  that 
the  first  two  treaties  of  191 2  and  19 13  were  supplemented 
by  the  convention  of  191 5.  However,  in  19 16,  when 
all  the  forces  of  Russia  were  pre-occupied  in  the  unsuc- 
cessful war  and  afterwards  when  the  first  Russian  revo- 


MYSTERIOUS  MONGOLIA  107 

lution  broke  out  in  February,   191 7,  overthrowing  the 
Romanoff  Dynasty,  the  Chinese  Government  openly  re- 
took Mongolia.     They  changed  all  the  Mongolian  min- 
isters and  Saits,  replacing  them  with  individuals  friendly 
to   China;   arrested   many   Mongolian   autonomists   and 
sent  them  to  prison  in  Peking ;  set  up  their  administration 
in  Urga  and  other  Mongol  towns;  actually  removed  His 
Holiness  Bogdo  Khan  from  the  affairs  of  administration; 
made  him  only  a  machine  for  signing  Chinese  decrees; 
and  at  last  introduced  into  Mongolia  their  troops.    From 
that  moment  there  developed  an  energetic  flow  of  Chinese 
merchants  and  coolies  into  Mongolia.    The  Chinese  began 
to  demand  the  payment  of  taxes  and  dues  from   1912. 
The  Mongolian  population  were  rapidly  stripped  of  their 
wealth  and  now  in  the  vicinities  of  our  towns  and  mona- 
steries you  can  see  whole  settlements  of  beggar  Mongols 
living  in  dugouts.     All  our  Mongol  arsenals  and  treas- 
uries were  requisitioned.    All  monasteries  were  forced  to 
pay  taxes;  all  Mongols  working  for  the  liberty  of  their 
country  were  persecuted;  through  bribery  with  Chinese 
silver,  orders  and  titles  the  Chinese  secured  a  following 
among  the  poorer  Mongol  Princes.     It  is  easy  to  under- 
stand how  the  governing  class,   His   Holiness,   Khans, 
Princes,  and  high  Lamas,  as  well  as  the  ruined  and  op- 
pressed people,  remembering  that  the  Mongol  rulers  had 
once  held  Peking  and  China  in  their  hands  and  under 
their  reign  had  given  her  the  first  place  in  Asia,  were 
definitely  hostile  to  the   Chinese   administrators   acting 
thus.     Insurrection  was,  however,  impossible.     We  had 
no  arms.     All  our  leaders  were  under  surveillance  and 
every  movement  by  them  toward  an  armed   resistance 
would  have  ended  in  the  same  prison  at  Peking  where 


loS  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

eighty  of  our  Noblca,  Princes  and  Lamas  died  from 
hunger  and  torture  after  a  previous  struggle  for  the  lib- 
erty of  Mongolia.  Some  abnormally  strong  shock  was 
necessary  to  drive  the  people  into  action.  This  was  given 
by  the  Chinese  administrators,  General  Cheng  Yi  and 
General  Chu  Chi-hsiang.  They  announced  that  His  Holi- 
ness Bogdo  Khan  was  under  arrest  in  his  own  palace, 
and  they  recalled  to  his  attention  the  former  decree  of 
the  Peking  Government — held  by  the  Mongols  to  be  un- 
warranted and  illegal — that  His  Holiness  was  the  last 
Living  Buddha.  This  was  enough.  Immediately  secret 
relations  were  made  between  the  people  and  their  Living 
God,  and  plans  were  at  once  elaborated  for  the  liberation 
of  His  Holiness  and  for  the  struggle  for  liberty  and 
freedom  of  our  people.  We  were  helped  by  the  great 
Prince  of  the  Buriats,  Djam  Bolon,  who  began  parleys 
with  General  Ungern,  then  engaged  in  fighting  the  Bol- 
sheviki  in  Transbaikalia,  and  invited  him  to  enter  Mon- 
golia and  help  in  the  war  against  the  Chinese.  Then 
our  struggle  for  liberty  began." 

Thus  the  Sait  of  Uliassutai  explained  the  situation 
to  me.  Afterwards  I  heard  that  Baron  Ungern,  who  had 
agreed  to  fight  for  the  liberty  of  Mongolia,  directed  that 
the  mobilization  of  the  Mongolians  in  the  northern  dis- 
tricts be  forwarded  at  once  and  promised  to  enter  Mon- 
golia with  his  own  small  detachment,  moving  along  the 
River  Kerulen.  Afterwards  he  took  up  relations  with 
the  other  Russian  detachment  of  Colonel  Kazagrandi 
and,  together  with  the  mobilized  Mongolian  riders,  began 
the  attack  on  Urga.  Twice  he  was  defeated  but  on  the 
third  of  February,  192 1,  he  succeeded  in  capturing  the 


MYSTERIOUS   MONGOLIA  109 

town  and  replaced  the  Living  Buddha  on  the  tlirone  of 
the  Khans. 

At  the  end  of  March,  however,  these  events  were  still 
unknown  in  Uliassutai.  We  knew  neither  of  the  fall  of 
Urga  nor  of  the  destruction  of  the  Chinese  army  of 
nearly  15,000  in  the  battles  of  Maimachen  on  the  shore  of 
the  Tola  and  on  the  roads  between  Urga  and  Ude.  The 
Chinese  carefully  concealed  the  truth  by  preventing  any- 
body from  passing  westward  from  Urga.  However, 
rumours  existed  and  troubled  all.  The  atmosphere  be- 
came more  and  more  tense,  while  the  relations  between 
the  Chinese  on  the  one  side  and  the  Mongolians  and 
Russians  on  the  other  became  more  and  more  strained. 
At  this  time  the  Chinese  Commissioner  in  Uliassutai  was 
Wang  Tsao-tsun  and  his  advisor,  Fu  Hsiang,  both  very 
young  and  inexperienced  men.  The  Chinese  authorities 
had  dismissed  the  Uliassutai  Sait,  the  prominent  Mon- 
golian patriot.  Prince  Chultun  Beyle,  and  had  appointed 
a  Lama  Prince  friendly  to  China,  the  former  Vice-Min- 
ister of  War  in  Urga.  Oppression  increased.  The  search- 
ing of  Russian  officers'  and  colonists'  houses  and  quarters 
commenced,  open  relations  with  the  Bolsheviki  followed 
and  arrest  and  beatings  became  common.  The  Russian 
officers  formed  a  secret  detachment  of  sixty  men  so  that 
they  could  defend  themselves.  However,  in  this  detach- 
ment disagreements  soon  sprang  up  between  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  M.  M.  Michailoff  and  some  of  his  officers.  It 
was  evident  that  in  the  decisive  moment  the  detachment 
must  separate  into  factions. 

We  foreigners  in  council  decided  to  make  a  thorough 
reconnaissance  in  order  to  know  whether  there  was  danger 
of  Red  troops  arriving.    My  old  companion  and  I  agreed 


no  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

to  do  this  scouting.  Prince  Chultun  Beyle  gave  us  a  very 
good  guide — an  old  Mongol  named  Tzeren,  who  spoke 
and  read  Russian  perfectly.  He  v^as  a  very  interesting 
personage,  holding  the  position  of  interpreter  with  the 
Mongolian  authorities  and  sometimes  with  the  Chinese 
Commissioner.  Shortly  before  he  had  been  sent  as  a 
special  envoy  to  Peking  with  very  important  despatches 
and  this  incomparable  horseman  had  made  the  journey 
between  Uliassutai  and  Peking,  that  is  i,8oo  miles,  in  nine 
days,  incredible  as  it  may  seem.  He  prepared  himself  for 
the  journey  by  binding  all  his  abdomen  and  chest,  legs, 
arms  and  neck  with  strong  cotton  bandages  to  protect 
himself  from  the  wracks  and  strains  of  such  a  period  in 
the  saddle.  In  his  cap  he  bore  three  eagle  feathers  as  a 
token  that  he  had  received  orders  to  fly  like  a  bird.  Armed 
with  a  special  document  called  a  tzara,  which  gave  him 
the  right  to  receive  at  all  post  stations  the  best  horses,  one 
to  ride  and  one  fully  saddled  to  lead  as  a  change,  together 
with  two  oulatchen  or  guards  to  accompany  him  and 
bring  back  the  horses  from  the  next  station  or  our  ton,  he 
made  the  distance  of  from  fifteen  to  thirty  miles  between 
stations  at  full  gallop,  stopping  only  long  enough  to  have 
the  horses  and  guards  changed  before  he  was  off  again. 
Ahead  of  him  rode  one  oulatchen  with  the  best  horses 
to  enable  him  to  announce  and  prepare  in  advance  the 
complement  of  steeds  at  the  next  station.  Each  oulatchen 
had  three  horses  in  all,  so  that  he  could  swing  from  one 
that  had  given  out  and  release  him  to  graze  until  his  re- 
turn to  pick  him  up  and  lead  or  ride  him  back  home.  At 
every  third  oiirton,  without  leaving  his  saddle,  he  received 
a  cup  of  hot  green  tea  with  salt  and  continued  hi%  race 
southward.     After  seventeen  or  eighteen  hours  O**  Mu:h 


MYSTERIOUS  MONGOLIA  iii 

riding  he  stopped  at  the  ourton  for  the  night  or  what  was 
left  of  it,  devoured  a  leg  of  boiled  mutton  and  slept. 
Thus  he  ate  once  a  day  and  five  times  a  day  had  tea ;  and 
so  he  traveled  for  nine  days ! 

With  this  servant  we  moved  out  one  cold  winter  morn- 
ing in  the  direction  of  Kobdo,  just  over  three  hundred 
miles,  because  from  there  we  had  received  the  disquiet- 
ing rumours  that  the  Red  troops  had  entered  Ulankom 
and  that  the  Chinese  authorities  had  handed  over  to  them 
all  the  Europeans  in  the  town.  We  crossed  the  River 
Dzaphin  on  the  ice.  It  is  a  terrible  stream.  Its  bed  is 
full  of  quicksands,  which  in  summer  suck  in  numbers 
of  camels,  horses  and  men.  We  entered  a  long,  winding 
valley  among  the  mountains  covered  with  deep  snow  and 
here  and  there  with  groves  of  the  black  wood  of  the  larch. 
About  halfway  to  Kobdo  we  came  across  the  yurta  of  a 
shepherd  on  the  shore  of  the  small  Lake  of  Baga  Nor, 
where  evening  and  a  strong  wind  whirling  gusts  of  snow 
in  our  faces  easily  persuaded  us  to  stop.  By  the  yurta 
stood  a  splendid  bay  horse  with  a  saddle  richly  orna- 
mented with  silver  and  coral.  As  we  turned  in  from  the 
road,  two  Mongols  left  the  yurta  very  hastily;  one  of 
them  jumped  into  the  saddle  and  quickly  disappeared  in 
the  plain  behind  the  snowy  hillocks.  We  clearly  made  out 
the  flashing  folds  of  his  yellow  robe  under  the  great  outer 
coat  and  saw  his  large  knife  sheathed  in  a  green  leather 
scabbard  and  handled  with  horn  and  ivory.  The  other 
man  was  the  host  of  the  yurta,  the  shepherd  of  a  local 
prince,  Novontziran.  He  gave  signs  of  great  pleasure  at 
seeing  us  and  receiving  us  in  his  yurta. 

"Who  was  the  rider  on  the  bay  horse?"  we  asked. 

He  dropped  his  eyes  and  was  silent. 


112  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

"Tell  us,"  we  insisted.  "If  you  do  not  wish  to  speak 
his  name,  it  means  that  you  are  dealing  with  a  bad  char- 
acter." 

"No !  No !"  he  remonstrated,  flourishing  his  hands. 
"He  is  a  good,  great  man ;  but  the  law  does  not  permit  me 
to  speak  his  name." 

We  at  once  understood  that  the  man  was  either  the 
chief  of  the  shepherd  or  some  high  Lama.  Consequently 
we  did  not  further  insist  and  began  making  our  sleeping 
arrangements.  Our  host  set  three  legs  of  mutton  to  boil 
for  us,  skillfully  cutting  out  the  bones  with  his  heavy 
knife.  We  chatted  and  learned  that  no  one  had  seen  Red 
troops  around  this  region  but  in  Kobdo  and  in  Ulankom 
the  Chinese  soldiers  were  oppressing  the  population,  and 
were  beating  to  death  with  the  bamboo  Mongol  men 
who  were  defending  their  women  against  the  ravages 
of  these  Chinese  troops.  Some  of  the  Mongols  had  re- 
treated to  the  mountains  to  join  detachments  under  the 
command  of  Kaigordoff,  an  Altai  Tartar  officer  who 
was  supplying  them  with  weapons. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  MYSTERIOUS  LAMA  AVENGER 

TTT'E  rested  soundly  in  the  yurta  after  the  two 
^  '  days  of  travel  which  had  brought  us  one  hundred 
seventy  miles  through  the  snow  and  sharp  cold.  Round 
the  evening  meal  of  juicy  mutton  we  were  talking  freely 
and  carelessly  when  suddenly  we  heard  a  low,  hoarse 
voice : 

"Sayn — Good  evening !" 

We  turned  around  from  the  brazier  to  the  door  and 
saw  a  medium  height,  very  heavy  set  Mongol  in  deerskin 
overcoat  and  cap  with  side  flaps  and  the  long,  wide  tying 
strings  of  the  same  material.  Under  his  girdle  lay  the 
same  large  knife  in  the  green  sheath  which  we  had  seen 
on  the  departing  horseman. 

"Amoursayn,"  we  answered. 

He  quickly  untied  his  girdle  and  laid  aside  his  overcoat. 
He  stood  before  us  in  a  wonderful  gown  of  silk,  yellow 
as  beaten  gold  and  girt  with  a  brilliant  blue  sash.  His 
cleanly  shaven  face,  short  hair,  red  coral  rosary  on  the 
left  hand  and  his  yellow  garment  proved  clearly  that 
before  us  stood  some  high  Lama  Priest, — with  a  big  Colt 
tmder  his  blue  sash ! 

I  turned  to  my  host  and  Tzeren  and  read  in  their  faces 
fear  and  veneration.  The  stranger  came  over  to  the 
brazier  and  sat  down. 

113 


114  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

"Let's  speak  Russian,"  he  said  and  took  a  bit  of  meat. 

The  conversation  began.  The  stranger  began  to  find 
fault  with  the  Government  of  the  Living  Buddha  in 
Urga. 

"There  they  liberate  Mongolia,  capture  Urga,  defeat 
the  Chinese  army  and  here  in  the  west  they  give  us  no 
news  of  it.  We  are  without  action  here  while  the  Chinese 
kill  our  people  and  steal  from  them.  I  think  that  Bogdo 
Khan  might  send  us  envoys.  How  is  it  the  Chinese  can 
send  their  envoys  from  Urga  and  Kiakhta  to  Kobdo, 
asking  for  assistance,  and  the  Mongol  Government  cannot 
do  it?     Why?" 

"Will  the  Chinese  send  help  to  Urga?"  I  asked. 

Our  guest  laughed  hoarsely  and  said:  "I  caught  all  the 
envoys,  took  away  their  letters  and  then  sent  them  back 
.  .  .  into  the  ground." 

He  laughed  again  and  glanced  around  peculiarly  with 
his  blazing  eyes.  Only  then  did  I  notice  that  his  cheek- 
bones and  eyes  had  lines  strange  to  the  Mongols  of  Cen- 
tral Asia.  He  looked  more  like  a  Tartar  or  a  Kirghiz. 
We  were  silent  and  smoked  our  pipes. 

"How  soon  will  the  detachment  of  Chahars  leave  Uli- 
assutai?"  he  asked. 

We  answered  that  we  had  not  heard  about  them.  Our 
guest  explained  that  from  Inner  Mongolia  the  Chinese 
authorities  had  sent  out  a  strong  detachment,  mobilized 
from  among  the  most  warlike  tribe  of  Chahars,  which 
wander  about  the  region  just  outside  the  Great  Wall.  Its 
chief  was  a  notorious  hiinghutse  leader  promoted  by  the 
Chinese  Government  to  the  rank  of  captain  on  promising 
that  he  would  bring  under  subjugation  to  the  Chinese 
authorities  all  the  tribes  of  the  districts  of  Kobdo  and 


THE   MYSTERIOUS  LAMA  AVENGER        115 

Urianhai.  When  he  learned  whither  we  were  going  and 
for  what  purpose,  he  said  he  could  give  us  the  most  accu- 
rate news  and  relieve  us  from  the  necessity  of  going 
farther. 

"Besides  that,  it  is  very  dangerous,"  he  said,  "because 
Kobdo  will  be  massacred  and  burned.  I  know  this  posi- 
tively." 

When  he  heard  of  our  unsuccessful  attempt  to  pass 
through  Tibet,  he  became  attentive  and  very  sympa- 
thetic in  his  bearing  toward  us  and,  with  evident  feeling 
of  regret,  expressed  himself  strongly: 

"Only  I  could  have  helped  you  in  this  enterprise,  but 
not  the  Narabanchi  Hutuktu.  With  my  laissez-passer 
you  could  have  gone  anywhere  in  Tibet.  I  am  Tushe- 
goun  Lama." 

Tushegoun  Lama!  How  many  extraordinary  tales  I 
had  heard  about  him.  He  is  a  Russian  Kalmuck,  who 
because  of  his  propaganda  work  for  the  independence  of 
the  Kalmuck  people  made  the  acquaintance  of  many  Rus- 
sian prisons  under  the  Czar  and,  for  the  same  cause, 
added  to  his  list  under  the  Bolsheviki.  He  escaped  to 
Mongolia  and  at  once  attained  to  great  influence  among 
the  Mongols.  It  was  no  wonder,  for  he  was  a  close  friend 
and  pupil  of  the  Dalai  Lama  in  Potala  (Lhasa),  was  the 
most  learned  among  the  Lamites,  a  famous  thaumaturgist 
and  doctor.  He  occupied  an  almost  independent  position 
in  his  relationship  with  the  Living  Buddha  and  achieved 
to  the  leadership  of  all  the  old  wandering  tribes  of  West- 
ern Mongolia  and  Zungaria,  even  extending  his  political 
domination  over  the  Mongolian  tribes  of  Turkestan. 
His  influence  was  irresistible,  based  as  it  was  on  his  great 
control  of  mysterious  science,  as  he  expressed  it;  but  I 


ii6  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

was  also  told  that  it  has  its  foundation  largely  in  the 
panicky  fear  which  he  could  produce  in  the  Mongols. 
Everyone  who  disobeyed  his  orders  perished.  Such  an 
one  never  knew  the  day  or  the  hour  when,  in  his  yiirta 
or  beside  his  galloping  horse  on  the  plains,  the  strange 
and  powerful  friend  of  the  Dalai  Lama  would  appear. 
The  stroke  of  a  knife,  a  bullet  or  strong  fingers  strangling 
the  neck  like  a  vise  accomplished  the  justice  of  the  plans 
of  this  miracle  worker. 

Without  the  walls  of  the  yurta  the  wind  whistled  and 
roared  and  drove  the  frozen  snow  sharply  against  the 
stretched  felt.  Through  the  roar  of  the  wind  came  the 
sound  of  many  voices  in  mingled  shouting,  wailing  and 
laughter.  I  felt  that  in  such  surroundings  it  were  not 
difficult  to  dumbfound  a  wandering  nomad  with  miracles, 
because  Nature  herself  had  prepared  the  setting  for  it. 
This  thought  had  scarcely  time  to  flash  through  my  mind 
before  Tushegoun  Lama  suddenly  raised  his  head,  looked 
sharply  at  me  and  said : 

"There  is  very  much  unknown  in  Nature  and  the  skill 
of  using  the  unknown  produces  the  miracle;  but  the 
power  is  given  to  few.  I  want  to  prove  it  to  you  and  you 
may  tell  me  afterwards  whether  you  have  seen  it  before 
or  not." 

He  stood  up,  pushed  back  the  sleeves  of  his  yellow  gar- 
ment, seized  his  knife  and  strode  across  to  the  shepherd. 

"Michik,  stand  up!"  he  ordered. 

When  the  shepherd  had  risen,  the  Lama  quickly  un- 
buttoned his  coat  and  bared  the  man's  chest.  I  could  not 
yet  understand  what  was  his  intention,  when  suddenly 
the  Tushegoun  with  all  his  force  struck  his  knife  into 
the  chest  of  the  shepherd.    The  Mongol  fell  all  covered 


THE   MYSTERIOUS  LAMA  AVENGER        117 

with  blood,  a  splash  of  which  I  noticed  on  the  yellow 
silk  of  the  Lama's  coat. 

"What  have  you  done?"  I  exclaimed. 

"Sh!  Be  still,"  he  whispered  turning  to  me  his  now 
quite  blanched  face. 

With  a  few  strokes  of  the  knife  he  opened  the  chest 
of  the  Mongol  and  I  saw  the  man's  lungs  softly  breath- 
ing and  the  distinct  palpitations  of  the  heart.  The  Lama 
touched  these  organs  with  his  fingers  but  no  more  blood 
appeared  to  flow  and  the  face  of  the  shepherd  was  quite 
calm.  He  was  lying  with  his  eyes  closed  and  appeared 
to  be  in  deep  and  quiet  sleep.  As  the  Lama  began  to 
open  his  abdomen,  I  shut  my  eyes  in  fear  and  horror ;  and, 
when  I  opened  them  a  little  while  later,  I  was  still  more 
dumbfounded  at  seeing  the  shepherd  with  his  coat  still 
open  and  his  breast  normal,  quietly  sleeping  on  his  side 
and  Tushegoun  Lama  sitting  peacefullly  by  the  brazier, 
smoking  his  pipe  and  looking  into  the  fire  in  deep  thought. 

"It  is  wonderful!"  I  confessed.  "I  have  never  seen 
anything  like  it !" 

"About  what  are  you  speaking?"  asked  the  Kalmuck. 

"About  your  demonstration  or  'miracle,'  as  you  call 
it,"  I  answered. 

"I  never  said  anything  like  that,"  refuted  the  Kalmuck, 
with  coldness  in  his  voice. 

"Did  you  see  it?"  I  asked  of  my  companion. 

"What?"  he  queried  in  a  dozing  voice. 

I  realized  that  I  had  become  the  victim  of  the  hypnotic 
power  of  Tushegoun  Lama;  but  I  preferred  this  to  seeing 
an  innocent  Mongolian  die,  for  I  had  not  believed  that 
Tushegoun  Lama,  after  slashing  open  the  bodies  of  his 
victims,  could  repair  them  again  so  readily. 


ii8  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

The  following  day  we  took  leave  of  our  hosts.  We 
decided  to  return,  inasmuch  as  our  mission  was  accom- 
plished; and  Tushegoun  Lama  explained  to  us  that  he 
would  "move  through  space."  He  wandered  over  all  Mon- 
golia, lived  both  in  the  single,  simple  yurta  of  the  shepherd 
and  hunter  and  in  the  splendid  tents  of  the  princes  and 
tribal  chiefs,  surrounded  by  deep  veneration  and  panic- 
fear,  enticing  and  cementing  to  him  rich  and  poor  alike 
with  his  miracles  and  prophecies.  When  bidding  us 
adieu,  the  Kalmuck  sorcerer  slyly  smiled  and  said: 

"Do  not  give  any  information  about  me  to  the  Chinese 
authorities." 

Afterwards  he  added:  "What  happened  to  you  yester- 
day evening  was  a  futile  demonstration.  You  Europeans 
will  not  recognize  that  we  dark-minded  nomads  possess 
the  powers  of  mysterious  science.  If  you  could  only  see 
the  miracles  and  power  of  the  Most  Holy  Tashi  Lama, 
when  at  his  command  the  lamps  and  candles  before  the 
ancient  statue  of  Buddha  light  themselves  and  when  the 
ikons  of  the  gods  begin  to  speak  and  prophesy!  But 
there  exists  a  more  powerful  and  more  holy  man.  .  ," 

"Is  it  the  King  of  the  World  in  Agharti?"  I  inter- 
rupted. 

He  stared  and  glanced  at  me  in  amazement. 

"Have  you  heard  about  him?"  he  asked,  as  his  brows 
knit  in  thought. 

After  a  few  seconds  he  raised  his  narrow  eyes  and 
said:  "Only  one  man  knows  his  holy  name ;  only  one  man 
now  living  was  ever  in  Agharti.  That  is  I.  This  is  the 
reason  why  the  Most  Holy  Dalai  Lama  has  honored  me 
and  why  the  Living  Buddha  in  Urga  fears  me.  But  in 
vain,  for  I  shall  never  sit  on  the  Holy  Throne  of  the  high- 


THE  MYSTERIOUS  LAMA  AVENGER         119 

est  priest  in  Lhasa  nor  reach  that  which  has  come  down 
from  Jenghiz  Khan  to  the  Head  of  our  yellow  Faith.  I 
am  no  monk.    I  am  a  warrior  and  avenger,' 

He  jumped  smartly  into  the  saddle,  whipped  his  horse 
and  whirled  away,  flinging  out  as  he  left  the  common 
Mongolian  phrase  of  adieu:  "Sayn!    Sayn-hayna!" 

On  the  way  back  Tzeren  related  to  us  the  hundreds 
of  legends  surrounding  Tushegoun  Lama.     One  tale  es- 
pecially remained    in  my  mind.     It  was  in  191 1  or  1912 
when  the  Mongols  by  armed  force  tried  to  attain  their 
liberty   in   a  struggle  with  the   Chinese.     The   general 
Chinese  headquarters  in  Western  Mongolia  was  Kobdo, 
where  they  had  about  ten  thousand  soldiers  under  the 
command  of  their  best  officers.    The  command  to  capture 
Kobdo  was  sent  to  Hun  Baldon,  a  simple  shepherd  who 
had  distinguished  himself  in  fights  with  the  Chinese  and 
received  from  the  Living  Buddha  the  title  of  Prince  of 
Hun.     Ferocious,  absolutely  without  fear  and  possessing 
gigantic  strength,  Baldon  had  several  times  led  to  the 
attack  his  poorly  armed  Mongols  but  each  time  had  been 
forced  to  retreat  after  losing  many  of  his  men  under  the 
machine-gun  fire.     Unexpectedly  Tushegoun  Lama  ar- 
rived.   He  collected  all  the  soldiers  and  then  said  to  them  : 
"You  must  not  fear  death  and  must  not  retreat.    You 
are  fighting  and  dying  for  Mongolia,  for  which  the  gods 
have  appointed  a  great  destiny.     See  what  the  fate  of 
Mongolia  will  be!" 

He  made  a  great  sweeping  gesture  with  his  hand  and 
all  the  soldiers  saw  the  country  round  about  set  with  rich 
yurtas  and  pastures  covered  with  great  herds  of  horses 
and  cattle.  On  the  plains  appeared  numerous  horsemen 
on  richly  saddled  steeds.     The  women  were  .clowned  in 


120  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

the  finest  of  silk  with  massive  silver  rings  in  their  ears 
and  precious  ornaments  in  their  elaborate  head  dresses 
Chinese  merchants  led  an  endless  caravan  of  merchan- 
dise up  to  distinguished  looking  Mongol  Saits,  surrounded 
by  the  gaily  dressed  tzirik  or  soldiers  and  proudly  ne- 
gotiating with  the  merchants  for  their  wares. 

Shortly  the  vision  disappeared  and  Tushegoun  began 
to  speak. 

"Do  not  fear  death !  It  is  a  release  from  our  labor  on 
earth  and  the  path  to  the  state  of  constant  blessings. 
Look  to  the  East !  Do  you  see  your  brothers  and  friends 
who  have  fallen  in  battle?" 

"We  see,  we  see!"  the  Mongol  warriors  exclaimed  in 
astonishment,  as  they  all  looked  upon  a  great  group  of 
dwellings  which  might  have  been  yurtas  or  the  arches  of 
temples  flushed  with  a  warm  and  kindly  light.  Red  and 
yellow  silk  were  interwoven  in  bright  bands  that  covered 
the  walls  and  floor,  everywhere  the  gilding  on  pillars  and 
walls  gleamed  brightly ;  on  the  great  red  altar  burned  the 
thin  sacrificial  candles  in  gold  candelabra,  beside  the  mas- 
sive silver  vessels  filled  with  milk  and  nuts;  on  soft 
pillows  about  the  floor  sat  the  Mongols  who  had  fallen  in 
the  previous  attack  on  Kobdo.  Before  them  stood  low, 
lacquered  tables  laden  with  many  dishes  of  steaming,  suc- 
culent flesh  of  the  lamb  and  the  kid,  with  high  jugs  of 
wine  and  tea,  with  plates  of  borsuk,  a  kind  of  sweet,  rich 
cakes,  with  aromatic  zatouran  covered  with  sheep's  fat, 
with  bricks  of  dried  cheese,  with  dates,  raisins  and  nuts. 
These  fallen  soldiers  smoked  golden  pipes  and  chatted 
gaily. 

This  vision  in  turn  also  disappeared  and  before  the 


THE   MYSTERIOUS  LAMA  AVENGER        121 

gazing  Mongols  stood  only  the  mysterious  Kalmuck  with 
his  hand  upraised. 

"To  battle  and  return  not  without  victory !  I  am  with 
you  in  the  fight." 

The  attack  began.  The  Mongols  fought  furiously,  per- 
ished by  the  hundreds  but  not  before  they  had  rushed 
into  the  heart  of  Kobdo.  Then  was  re-enacted  the  long 
forgotten  picture  of  Tartar  hordes  destroying  European 
towns.  Hun  Baldon  ordered  carried  over  him  a  triangle 
of  lances  with  brilliant  red  streamers,  a  sign  that  he  gave 
up  the  town  to  the  soldiers  for  three  days.  Murder  and 
pillage  began.  All  the  Chinese  met  their  death  there. 
The  town  was  burned  and  the  walls  of  the  fortress  de- 
stroyed. Afterwards  Hun  Baldon  came  to  Uliassutai  and 
also  destroyed  the  Chinese  fortress  there.  The  ruins  of 
it  still  stand  with  the  broken  embattlements  and  towers, 
the  useless  gates  and  the  remnants  of  the  burned  official 
quarters  and  soldiers'  barracks. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
WILD  CHAHARS 

AFTER  our  return  to  Uliassutai  we  heard  that  dis- 
quieting news  had  been  received  by  the  Mongol  Sait 
from  Muren  Kure.  The  letter  stated  that  Red  Troops  were 
pressing  Colonel  Kazagrandi  very  hard  in  the  region  of 
Lake  Kosogol.  The  Sait  feared  the  advance  of  the  Red 
troops  southward  to  Uliassutai.  Both  the  American  firms 
liquidated  their  affairs  and  all  our  friends  were  prepared 
for  a  quick  exit,  though  they  hesitated  at  the  thought  of 
leaving  the  town,  as  they  were  afraid  of  meeting  the  de- 
tachment of  Chahars  sent  from  the  east.  We  decided 
to  await  the  arrival  of  this  detachment,  as  their  coming 
could  change  the  whole  course  of  events.  In  a  few  days 
they  came,  two  hundred  warlike  Chahar  brigands  under 
the  command  of  a  former  Chinese  Imnghutne.  He  was  a 
tall,  skinny  man  with  hands  that  reached  almost  to  his 
knees,  a  face  blackened  by  wind  and  sun  and  mutilated 
with  two  long  scars  down  over  his  forehead  and  cheek, 
the  making  of  one  of  which  had  also  closed  one  of  his 
hawklike  eyes,  topped  off  with  a  shaggy  coonskin  cap — 
such  was  the  commander  of  the  detachment  of  Chahars. 
A  personage  very  dark  and  stern,  with  whom  a  night 
meeting  on  a  lonely  street  could  not  be  considered  a 
pleasure  by  any  bent  of  the  imagination. 

The  detachment  made  camp  within  the  destroyed  fort- 


WILD  CHAHARS  123 

ress,  near  to  the  single  Chinese  building  that  had  not  been 
razed  and  which  was  now  serving  as  headquarters  for  tlie 
Chinese  Commissioner.  On  the  very  day  of  their  arrival 
the  Chahars  pillaged  a  Chinese  dugiin  or  trading  house 
not  half  a  mile  from  the  fortress  and  also  offended  the 
wife  of  the  Chinese  Commissioner  by  calling  her  a 
"traitor."  The  Chahars,  like  the  Mongols,  were  quite 
right  in  their  stand,  because  the  Chinese  Commissioner 
Wang  Tsao-tsun  had  on  his  arrival  in  Uliassutai  fol- 
lowed the  Chinese  custom  of  demanding  a  Mongolian 
wife.  The  servile  new  Sait  had  given  orders  that  a  beau- 
tiful and  suitable  Mongolian  girl  be  found  for  him.  One 
was  so  run  down  and  placed  in  his  yamen,  together  with 
her  big  wrestling  Mongol  brother  who  w^as  to  be  a  guard 
for  the  Commissioner  but  who  developed  into  the  nurse 
for  the  little  white  Pekingese  pug  which  the  official  pre- 
sented to  his  new  wife. 

Burglaries,  squabbles  and  drunken  orgies  of  the  Cha- 
hars followed,  so  that  Wang  Tsoa-tsun  exerted  all  his 
efforts  to  hurry  the  detachment  westward  to  Kobdo  and 
farther  into  Urianhai. 

One  cold  morning  the  inhabitants  of  Uliassutai  rose 
to  witness  a  very  stern  picture.  Along  the  main  street  of 
the  town  the  detachment  was  passing.  They  were  riding 
on  small,  shaggy  ponies,  three  abreast;  were  dressed  in 
warm  blue  coats  with  sheepskin  overcoats  outside  and 
crowned  with  the  regulation  coonskin  caps;  armed  from 
head  to  foot.  They  rode  with  wild  shouts  and  cheers, 
very  greedily  eyeing  the  Chinese  shops  and  the  houses 
of  the  Russian  colonists.  At  their  head  rode  the  one- 
eyed  hunghutsc  chief  with  three  horsemen  behind  him  in 
white  overcoats,  who  carried  waving  banners  and  blew 


124  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

what  may  have  been  meant  for  music  through  great  conch 
shells.  One  of  the  Chahars  could  not  resist  and  so 
jumped  out  of  his  saddle  and  made  for  a  Chinese  shop 
along  the  street.  Immediately  the  anxious  cries  of  the 
Chinese  merchants  came  from  the  shop.  The  hunghutze 
swung  round,  noticed  the  horse  at  the  door  of  the  shop 
and  realized  what  was  happening.  Immediately  he  reined 
his  horse  and  made  for  the  spot.  With  his  raucous  voice 
he  called  the  Chahar  out.  As  he  came,  he  struck  him  full 
in  the  face  with  his  whip  and  with  all  his  strength.  Blood 
flowed  from  the  slashed  cheek.  But  the  Chahar  was  in 
the  saddle  in  a  second  without  a  murmur  and  galloped 
to  his  place  in  the  file.  During  this  exit  of  the  Chahars 
all  the  people  were  hidden  in  their  houses,  anxiously  peep- 
ing through  cracks  and  corners  of  the  windows.  But  the 
Chahars  passed  peacefully  out  and  only  when  they  met 
a  caravan  carrying  Chinese  wine  about  six  miles  from 
town  did  their  native  tendency  display  itself  again  in 
pillaging  and  emptying  several  containers.  Somewhere 
in  the  vicinity  of  Hargana  they  were  ambushed  by  Tushe- 
goun  Lama  and  so  treated  that  never  again  will  the  plains 
of  Chahar  welcome  the  return  of  these  warrior  sons  who 
were  sent  out  to  conquer  the  Soyot  descendants  of  the 
ancient  Tuba. 

The  day  the  column  left  Uliassutai  a  heavy  snow  fell, 
so  that  the  road  became  impassable.  The  horses  first  were 
up  to  their  knees,  Irired  out  and  stopped.  Some  Mongol 
horsemen  reached  Uliassutai  the  following  day  after 
great  hardship  and  exertion,  having  made  only  twenty- 
five  miles  in  forty-eight  hours.  Caravans  were  compelled 
to  stop  along  the  routes.  The  Mongols  would  not  con- 
sent even  to  attempt  journeys  with  oxen  and  yaks  which 


WILD  CHAHARS  125 

made  but  ten  or  twelve  miles  a  day.  Only  camels  could 
be  used  but  there  were  too  few  and  their  drivers  did  not 
feel  that  they  could  make  the  first  railway  station  of 
Kuku-Hoto,  which  was  about  fourteen  hundred  miles 
away.  We  were  forced  again  to  wait:  for  which  ?  Death 
or  salvation?  Only  our  own  energy  and  force  could 
save  us.  Consequently  my  friend  and  I  started  out,  sup- 
plied with  a  tent,  stove  and  food,  for  a  new  reconnais- 
sance along  the  shore  of  Lake  Kosogol,  whence  the  Mon- 
gol Sait  expected  the  new  invasion  of  Red  troops. 


CHAPTER  XX 
THE  DEMON  OF  JAGISSTAI 

OUR  small  group  consisting  of  four  mounted  and  one 
pack  camel  moved  northward  along  the  valley  of 
the  River  Boyagol  in  the  direction  of  tlie  Tarbagatai 
Mountains.  The  road  was  rocky  and  covered  deep  with 
snow.  Our  camels  walked  very  carefully,  sniffing  out 
the  way  as  our  guide  shouted  the  "Ok !  Ok !"  of  the  camel 
drivers  to  urge  them  on.  We  left  behind  us  the  fortress 
and  Chinese  diigun,  swung  round  the  shoulder  of  a  ridge 
and,  after  fording  several  times  an  open  stream,  began 
the  ascent  of  the  mountain.  The  scramble  was  hard  and 
dangerous.  Our  camels  picked  their  way  most  cautiously, 
moving  their  ears  constantly,  as  is  their  habit  in  such 
stress.  The  trail  zigzagged  into  mountain  ravines,  passed 
over  the  tops  of  ridges,  slipped  back  down  again  into 
shallower  valleys  but  ever  made  higher  and  higher  alti- 
tudes. At  one  place  under  the  grey  clouds  that  tipped 
the  ridges  we  saw  away  up  on  the  wide  expanse  of  snow 
some  black  spots. 

"Those  are  the  oho,  the  sacred  signs  and  altars  for 
the  bad  demons  watching  this  pass,"  explained  the  guide. 
"This  pass  is  called  Jagisstai.  Many  very  old  tales  about 
it  have  been  kept  alive,  ancient  as  these  mountains  them- 
selves.*' 

We  encouraged  him  to  tell  us  some  of  them. 

126 


THE  DEMON  OF  JAGISSTAI  127 

The  Mongol,  rocking  on  his  camel  and  looking  care- 
fully all  around  him,  began  his  tale. 

"It  was  long  ago,  very  long  ago,  .  .  .  The  grandson 
of  the  great  Jenghiz  Khan  sat  on  the  throne  of  China 
and  ruled  all  Asia.  The  Chinese  killed  their  Khan  and 
wanted  to  exterminate  all  his  family  but  a  holy  old  Lama 
slipped  the  wife  and  little  son  out  of  the  palace  and  car- 
ried them  off  on  swift  camels  beyond  the  Gr^at  Wall, 
where  they  sank  into  our  native  plains.  The  Chinese 
made  a  long  search  for  the  trails  of  our  refugees  and 
at  last  found  where  they  had  gone.  They  despatched 
a  strong  detachment  on  fleet  horses  to  capture  them. 
Sometimes  the  Chinese  nearly  came  up  with  the  fleeing 
heir  of  our  Khan  but  the  Lama  called  down  from  Heaven 
a  deep  snow,  through  which  the  camels  could  pass  while 
the  horses  were  inextricably  held.  This  Lama  was  from 
a  distant  monastery.  We  shall  pass  this  hospice  of  Ja- 
hantsi  Kure.  In  order  to  reach  it  one  must  cross  over 
the  Jagisstai.  And  it  was  just  here  the  old  Lama  sud- 
denly became  ill,  rocked  in  his  saddle  and  fell  dead.  Ta 
Sin  Lo,  the  widow  of  the  Great  Khan,  burst  into  tears; 
but,  seeing  the  Chinese  riders  galloping  there  below  across 
the  valley,  pressed  on  toward  the  pass.  The  camels  were 
tired,  stopping  every  moment,  nor  did  the  woman  know 
how  to  stimulate  and  drive  them  on.  The  Chinese  riders 
came  nearer  and  nearer.  Already  she  heard  their  shouts 
of  joy,  as  they  felt  within  their  grasp  the  prize  of  the 
mandarins  for  the  murder  of  the  heir  of  the  Great  Khan. 
The  heads  of  the  mother  and  the  son  would  be  brought 
to  Peking  and  exposed  on  the  Ch'ien  Men  for  the  mock- 
ery and  insults  of  the  people.  The  frightened  mother 
lifted  her  little  son  toward  heaven  and  exclaimed : 


128  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

"  'Earth  and  Gods  of  Mongolia,  behold  the  offspring 
of  the  man  who  has  glorified  the  name  of  the  Mongols 
from  one  end  of  the  world  to  the  other !  Allow  not  this 
very  flesh  of  Jenghiz  KJian  to  perish!' 

"At  this  moment  she  noticed  a  white  mouse  sitting 
on  a  rock  nearby.     It  jumped  to  her  knees  and  said : 

"  *I  am  sent  to  help  you.  Go  on  calmly  and  do  not 
fear.  The  pursuers  of  you  and  your  son,  to  whom  is 
destined  a  life  of  glory,  have  come  to  the  last  bourne  of 
their  lives.' 

"Ta  Sin  Lo  did  not  see  how  one  small  mouse  could 
hold  in  check  three  hundred  men.  The  mouse  jumped 
back  to  the  ground  and  again  spoke: 

"  *I  am  the  demon  of  Tarbagatai,  Jagasstai.  I  am 
mighty  and  beloved  of  the  Gods  but,  because  you  doubted 
the  powers  of  the  miracle-speaking  mouse,  from  this  day 
the  Jagasstai  will  be  dangerous  for  the  good  and  bad 
alike.' 

"The  Khan's  widow  and  son  were  saved  but  Jagasstai 
has  ever  remained  merciless.  During  the  journey  over 
this  pass  one  must  always  be  on  one's  guard.  The  demon 
of  the  mountain  is  ever  ready  to  lead  the  traveler  to 
destruction." 

All  the  tops  of  the  ridges  of  the  Tarbagatai  are  thickly 
dotted  with  the  oho  of  rocks  and  branches.  In  one  place 
there  was  even  erected  a  tower  of  stones  as  an  altar  to 
propitiate  the  Gods  for  the  doubts  of  Ta  Sin  Lo.  Evi- 
dently the  demon  expected  us.  When  we  began  our 
ascent  of  the  main  ridge,  he  blew  into  our  faces  with  a 
sharp,  cold  wind,  whistled  and  roared  and  afterwards 
began  casting  over  us  whole  blocks  of  snow  torn  off 
the  drifts  above.     We  could  not  distinguish  anything 


THE  DEMON  OF  JAGISSTAI  129 

around  us,  scarcely  seeing  the  camel  immediately  in  front. 
Suddenly  I  felt  a  shock  and  looked  about  me.  Nothing 
unusual  was  visible.  I  was  seated  comfortably  between 
two  leather  saddle  bags  filled  with  meat  and  bread  but 
...  I  could  not  see  the  head  of  my  camel.  He  had 
disappeared.  It  seemed  that  he  had  slipped  and  fallen 
to  the  bottom  of  a  shallow  ravine,  while  the  bags  which 
were  slung  across  his  back  without  straps  had  caught  on 
a  rock  and  stopped  with  myself  there  in  the  snow.  This 
time  the  demon  of  Jagasstai  only  played  a  joke  but  one 
that  did  not  satisfy  him.  He  began  to  show  more  and 
more  anger.  With  furious  gusts  of  wind  he  almost 
dragged  us  and  our  bags  from  the  camels  and  nearly 
knocked  over  our  humped  steeds,  blinded  us  with  frozen 
snow  and  prevented  us  from  breathing.  Through  long 
hours  we  dragged  slowly  on  in  the  deep  snow,  often  fall- 
ing over  the  edge  of  the  rocks.  At  last  we  entered  a 
small  valley  where  the  wind  whistled  and  roared  with 
a  thousand  voices.  It  had  grown  dark.  The  Mongol 
wandered  around  searching  for  the  trail  and  finally  came 
back  to  us,  flourishing  his  arms  and  saying: 

"We  have  lost  the  road.  We  must  spend  the  night 
here.  It  is  very  bad  because  we  shall  have  no  wood  for 
our  stove  and  the  cold  will  grow  worse." 

With  great  difficulties  and  with  frozen  hands  we  man- 
aged to  set  up  our  tent  in  the  wind,  placing  in  it  the  now 
useless  stove.  We  covered  the  tent  with  snow,  dug  deep, 
long  ditches  in  the  drifts  and  forced  our  camels  to  lie 
down  in  them  by  shouting  the  "Dzuk !  Dzuk !"  command 
to  kneel.     Then  we  brought  our  packs  into  the  tent. 

My  companion  rebelled  against  the  thought  of  spend- 
ing a  cold  night  with  a  stove  hard  by. 


I30  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

"I  am  going  out  to  look  for  firewood,"  said  he  very 
decisively;  and  at  that  took  up  the  ax  and  started.  He 
returned  after  an  hour  w^ith  a  big  section  of  a  telegraph 
pole. 

"You,  Jenghiz  Khans,"  said  he,  rubbing  his  frozen 
hands,  "take  your  axes  and  go  up  there  to  the  left  on 
the  mountain  and  you  will  find  the  telegraph  poles  that 
have  been  cut  down.  I  made  acquaintance  with  the  old 
Jagasstai  and  he  showed  me  the  poles." 

Just  a  little  way  from  us  the  line  of  the  Russian  tele- 
graphs passed,  that  which  had  connected  Irkutsk  with 
Uliassutai  before  the  days  of  the  Bolsheviki  and  which 
the  Chinese  had  commanded  the  Mongols  to  cut  down 
and  take  the  wire.  These  poles  are  now  the  salvation  of 
travelers  crossing  the  pass.  Thus  we  spent  the  night  in  a 
warm  tent,  supped  well  from  hot  meat  soup  with  vermi- 
celli, all  in  the  very  center  of  the  dominion  of  the  angered 
Jagasstai.  Early  the  next  morning  we  found  the  road 
not  more  than  two  or  three  hundred  paces  from  our  tent 
and  continued  our  hard  trip  over  the  ridge  of  Tarbagatai. 
At  the  head  of  the  Adair  River  valley  we  noticed  a  flock 
of  the  Mongolian  crows  with  carmine  beaks  circling 
among  the  rocks.  We  approached  the  place  and  dis- 
covered the  recently  fallen  bodies  of  a  horse  and  rider. 
What  had  happened  to  them  was  difficult  to  guess.  They 
lay  close  together ;  the  bridle  was  wound  around  the  right 
wrist  of  the  man;  no  trace  of  knife  or  bullet  was  found. 
It  was  impossible  to  make  out  the  features  of  the  man. 
His  overcoat  was  Mongolian  but  his  trousers  and  under 
jacket  were  not  of  the  Mongolian  pattern.  We  asked 
ourselves  what  had  happened  to  him. 

Our  Mongol  bowed  his  head  in  anxiety  and  said  in 


THE   DEMON   OF  JAGISSTAI  131 

hushed  but  assured  tones:  "It  is  the  vengeance  of  Jagas- 
stai.  The  rider  did  not  make  sacrifice  at  the  southern 
obo  and  the  demon  has  strangled  him  and  his  horse." 

At  last  Tarbagatai  was  behind  us.  Before  us  lay  the 
valley  of  the  Adair.  It  was  a  narrow  zigzagging  plain 
following  along  the  river  bed  between  close  mountain 
ranges  and  covered  with  a  rich  grass.  It  was  cut  into 
two  parts  by  the  road  along  which  the  prostrate  telegraph 
poles  now  lay,  as  the  stumps  of  varying  heights  and  long 
stretches  of  wire  completed  the  debris.  This  destruction 
of  the  telegraph  line  between  Irkutsk  and  Uliassutai  was 
necessary  and  incident  to  the  aggressive  Chinese  policy 
in  Mongolia, 

Soon  we  began  to  meet  large  herds  of  sheep,  which 
were  digging  through  the  snow  to  the  dry  but  very 
nutritious  grass.  In  some  places  yaks  and  oxen  were 
seen  on  the  high  slopes  of  the  mountains.  Only  once, 
however,  did  we  see  a  shepherd,  for  all  of  them,  spying 
us  first,  had  made  off  to  the  mountains  or  hidden  in  the 
ravines.  We  did  not  even  discover  any  yurtas  along  the 
way.  The  Mongols  had  also  concealed  all  their  movable 
homes  in  the  folds  of  the  mountains  out  of  sight  and 
away  from  the  reach  of  the  strong  winds.  Nomads  are 
very  skilful  in  choosing  the  places  for  their  winter  dwell- 
ings. I  had  often  in  winter  visited  the  Mongolian  yurtas 
set  in  such  sheltered  places  that,  as  I  came  off  the  windy 
plains,  I  felt  as  though  I  were  in  a  conservatory.  Once 
we  came  up  to  a  big  herd  of  sheep.  But  as  we  approached 
most  of  the  herd  gradually  withdrew,  leaving  one  part 
that  remained  unmoved  as  the  other  worked  off  across 
the  plains.  From  this  section  soon  about  thirty  of  forty 
head  emerged  and  wen*  scrambling  and  leaping  right  up 


132  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

the  mountain  side.  I  took  up  my  glasses  and  began  to  ob- 
serve them.  The  part  of  the  herd  that  remained  behind 
were  common  sheep;  the  large  section  that  had  drawn 
off  over  the  plain  were  Mongolian  antelopes  {gazella 
gMtturosa)  ;  while  the  few  that  had  taken  to  the  mountain 
were  the  big  horned  sheep  {ovis  argali).  All  this  com- 
pany had  been  grazing  together  with  the  domestic  sheep 
on  the  plains  of  the  Adair,  which  attracted  them  with  its 
good  grass  and  clear  water.  In  many  places  the  river 
was  not  frozen  and  in  some  places  I  saw  great  clouds 
of  steam  over  the  surface  of  the  open  water.  In  the 
meantime  some  of  the  antelopes  and  the  mountain  sheep 
began  looking  at  us. 

"Now  they  will  soon  begin  to  cross  our  trail,"  laughed 
the  Mongol;  "very  funny  beasts.  Sometimes  the  ante- 
lopes course  for  miles  in  their  endeavor  to  outrun  and 
cross  in  front  of  our  horses  and  then,  when  they  have 
done  so,  go  loping  quietly  off." 

I  had  already  seen  this  strategy  of  the  antelopes  and 
I  decided  to  make  use  of  it  for  the  purpose  of  the  hunt. 
We  organized  our  chase  in  the  following  manner.  We 
let  one  Mongol  with  the  pack  camel  proceed  as  we  had 
been  traveling  and  the  other  three  of  us  spread  out  like 
a  fan  headed  toward  the  herd  on  the  right  of  our  true 
course.  The  herd  stopped  and  looked  about  puzzled,  for 
their  etiquette  required  that  they  should  cross  the  path 
of  all  four  of  these  riders  at  once.  Confusion  began. 
They  counted  about  three  thousand  heads.  All  this  army 
began  to  run  from  one  side  to  another  but  without  form- 
ing any  distinct  groups.  Whole  squadrons  of  them  ran 
before  us  and  then,  noticing  another  rider,  came  coursing 
back  and  made  anew  the  same  manoeuvre.     One  group 


THE  DEMON  OF  JAGISSTAI  133 

of  about  fifty  head  rushed  in  two  rows  toward  my  point. 
When  they  were  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  paces  away 
1  shouted  and  fired.  They  stopped  at  once  and  began 
to  whirl  round  in  one  spot,  running  into  one  another  and 
even  jumping  over  one  another.  Their  panic  cost  them 
dear,  for  I  had  time  to  shoot  four  times  to  bring  down 
two  beautiful  heads.  My  friend  was  even  more  fortu- 
nate than  I,  for  he  shot  only  once  into  the  herd  as  it 
rushed  past  him  in  parallel  lines  and  dropped  two  with 
the  same  bullet. 

Meanwhile  the  argali  had  gone  farther  up  the  moun- 
tainside and  taken  stand  there  in  a  row  like  so  many 
soldiers,  turning  to  gaze  at  us.  Even  at  this  distance 
I  could  clearly  distinguish  their  muscular  bodies  with 
their  majestic  heads  and  stalwart  horns.  Picking  up  our 
prey,  we  overtook  the  Mongol  who  had  gone  on  aliead 
and  continued  our  way.  In  many  places  we  came  across 
the  carcasses  of  sheep  with  necks  torn  and  the  flesh  of 
the  sides  eaten  off. 

"It  is  the  work  of  wolves,"  said  the  Mongol.  "They 
are  always  hereabout  in  large  numbers." 

We  came  across  several  more  herds  of  antelope,  which 
ran  along  quietly  enough  until  they  had  made  a  comfort- 
able distance  ahead  of  us  and  then  with  tremendous  leaps 
and  bounds  crossed  our  bows  like  the  proverbial  chicken 
on  tlie  road.  Then,  after  a  couple  of  hundred  paces  at 
this  speed,  they  stopped  and  began  to  graze  quite  calmly. 
Once  I  turned  my  camel  back  and  the  whole  herd  imme- 
diately took  up  the  challenge  again,  coursed  along  parallel 
with  me  until  they  had  made  sufficient  distance  for  their 
ideas  of  safety  and  then  once  more  rushed  across  the 
road  ahead  of  me  as  though  it  were  paved  with  red  hot 


134  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

stones,  only  to  assume  their  previous  calmness  and  graze 
back  on  the  same  side  of  the  trail  from  which  our  column 
had  first  started  them.  On  another  occasion  I  did  this 
three  times  with  a  particular  herd  and  laughed  long  and 
heartily  at  their  stupid  customs. 

We  passed  a  very  unpleasant  night  in  this  valley.  We 
stopped  on  the  shore  of  the  frozen  stream  in  a  spot  where 
we  found  shelter  from  the  wind  under  the  lee  of  a  high 
shore.  In  our  stove  we  did  have  a  fire  and  in  our  kettle 
boiling  water.  Also  our  tent  was  warm  and  cozy.  We 
were  quietly  resting  with  pleasant  thoughts  of  supper  to 
soothe  us,  when  suddenly  a  howling  and  laughter  as 
though  from  some  inferno  burst  upon  us  from  just  out- 
side the  tent,  while  from  the  other  side  of  the  valley 
came  the  long  and  doleful  howls  in  answer. 

"Wolves,"  calmly  explained  the  Mongol,  who  took  my 
revolver  and  went  out  of  the  tent.  He  did  not  return 
for  some  time  but  at  last  we  heard  a  shot  and  shortly 
after  he  entered. 

"I  scared  them  a  little,"  said  he.  "They  had  congre- 
gated on  the  shore  of  the  Adair  around  the  body  of  a 
camel." 

"And  they  have  not  touched  our  camels?"  we  asked. 

"We  shall  make  a  bonfire  behind  our  tent;  then  they 
will  not  bother  us." 

After  our  supper  we  turned  in  but  I  lay  awake  for  a 
long  time  listening  to  the  crackle  of  the  wood  in  the  fire, 
the  deep  sighing  breaths  of  the  camels  and  the  distant 
howling  of  the  packs  of  wolves;  but  finally,  even  with 
all  these  noises,  fell  asleep.  How  long  I  had  been  asleep 
I  did  not  know  when  suddenly  I  was  awakened  by  a 
strong  blow  in  the  side.     I  was  lying  at  the  very  edge 


THE   DEMON  OF  JAGISSTAI  135 

of  the  tent  and  someone  from  outside  had,  without  the 
least  ceremony,  pushed  strongly  against  me.  I  thought 
it  was  one  of  the  camels  chewing  the  felt  of  the  tent. 
I  took  my  Mauser  and  struck  the  wall.  A  sharp  scream 
was  followed  by  the  sound  of  quick  running  over  the 
pebbles.  In  the  morning  we  discovered  the  tracks  of 
wolves  approaching  our  tent  from  the  side  opposite  to 
the  fire  and  followed  them  to  where  they  had  begun  to 
dig  under  the  tent  wall ;  but  evidently  one  of  the  would-be 
robbers  was  forced  to  retreat  with  a  bruise  on  his  head 
from  the  handle  of  the  Mauser. 

Wolves  and  eagles  are  the  servants  of  Jagasstai,  the 
Mongol  very  seriously  instructed  us.  However,  this  does 
not  prevent  the  Mongols  from  hunting  them.  Once  in 
the  camp  of  Prince  Baysei  I  witnessed  such  a  hunt.  The 
Mongol  horsemen  on  the  best  of  his  steeds  overtook  the 
wolves  on  the  open  plain  and  killed  them  with  heavy  bam- 
boo sticks  or  tashur.  A  Russian  veterinary  surgeon 
taught  the  Mongols  to  poison  wolves  with  strychnine  but 
the  Mongols  soon  abandoned  this  method  because  of  its 
danger  to  the  dogs,  the  faithful  friends  and  allies  of  the 
nomad.  They  do  not,  however,  touch  the  eagles  and 
hawks  but  even  feed  them.  When  the  Mongols  are 
slaughtering  animals  they  often  cast  bits  of  meat  up 
into  the  air  for  the  hawks  and  eagles  to  catch  in  flight, 
just  as  we  throw  a  bit  of  meat  to  a  dog.  Eagles  and 
hawks  fight  and  drive  away  the  magpies  and  crows,  which 
are  very  dangerous  for  cattle  and  horses,  because  they 
scratch  and  peck  at  the  smallest  wound  or  al^rasion  on 
the  backs  of  the  animals  until  they  make  them  into 
uncurable  areas  which  they  continue  to  harass. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
THE  NEST  OF  DEATH 

OUR  camels  were  trudging  to  a  slow  but  steady  meas- 
ure on  toward  the  north.  We  were  making  twenty- 
five  to  thirty  miles  a  day  as  we  approached  a  small 
monastery  that  lay  to  the  left  of  our  route.  It  was  in 
the  form  of  a  square  of  large  buildings  surrounded  by 
a  high  fence  of  thick  poles.  Each  side  had  an  opening 
in  the  middle  leading  to  the  four  entrances  of  the  temple 
in  the  center  of  the  square.  The  temple  was  built  with 
the  red  lacquered  columns  and  the  Chinese  style  roofs 
and  dominated  the  surrounding  low  dwellings  of  the 
Lamas.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  road  lay  what  ap- 
peared to  be  a  Chinese  fortress  but  which  was  in  reality 
a  trading  compound  or  dugun,  which  the  Chinese  always 
build  in  the  form  of  a  fortress  with  double  walls  a  few 
feet  apart,  within  which  they  place  their  houses  and  shops 
and  usually  have  twenty  or  thirty  traders  fully  armed  for 
any  emergency.  In  case  of  need  these  duguns  can  be 
used  as  blockhouses  and  are  capable  of  withstanding  long 
sieges.  Between  the  dugun  and  the  monastery  and  nearer 
to  the  road  I  made  out  the  camp  of  some  nomads.  Their 
horses  and  cattle  were  nowhere  to  be  seen.  Evidently 
the  Mongols  had  stopped  here  for  some  time  and  had  left 
their  cattle  in  the  mountains.    Over  several  yurtas  waved 

136 


THE  NEST  OF   DEATH  137 

multi-colored  triangular  flags,  a  sign  of  the  presence  of 
disease.  Near  some  yurtas  high  poles  were  stuck  into 
the  ground  with  Mongol  caps  at  their  tops,  which  indi- 
cated that  the  host  of  the  yurta  had  died.  The  packs  of 
dogs  wandering  over  the  plain  showed  that  the  dead 
bodies  lay  somewhere  near,  either  in  the  ravines  or  along 
the  banks  of  the  river. 

As  we  approached  the  camp,  we  heard  from  a  distance 
the  frantic  beating  of  drums,  the  mournful  sounds  of  the 
flute  and  shrill,  mad  shouting.  Our  Mongol  went  for- 
ward to  investigate  for  us  and  reported  that  several  Mon- 
golian families  had  come  here  to  the  monastery  to  seek 
aid  from  the  Hutuktu  Jahansti  who  was  famed  for  his 
miracles  of  healing.  The  people  were  stricken  with 
leprosy  and  black  smallpox  and  had  come  from  long  dis- 
tances only  to  find  that  the  Hutuktu  was  not  at  the  mon- 
astery but  had  gone  to  the  Living  Buddha  in  Urga.  Con- 
sequently they  had  been  forced  to  invite  the  witch  doctors. 
The  people  were  dying  one  after  another.  Just  the  day 
before  they  had  cast  on  the  plain  the  twenty-seventh  man. 

Meanwhile,  as  we  talked,  the  witch  doctor  came  out 
of  one  of  the  yurtas.  He  was  an  old  man  with  a  cataract 
on  one  eye  and  with  a  face  deeply  scarred  by  smallpox. 
He  was  dressed  in  tatters  with  various  colored  bits  of 
cloth  hanging  down  from  his  waist.  He  carried  a  drum 
and  a  flute.  We  could  see  froth  on  his  blue  lips  and 
madness  in  his  eyes.  Suddenly  he  began  to  whirl  round 
and  dance  with  a  thousand  prancings  of  his  long  legs  and 
writhings  of  his  arms  and  shoulders,  still  beating  the 
drum  and  playing  the  flute  or  crying  and  raging  at  inter- 
vals, ever  accelerating  his  movements  until  at  last  with 
pallid  face  and  bloodshot  eyes  he  fell  on  the  snow,  where 


138  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

he  continued  to  writhe  and  give  out  his  incoherent  cries. 
In  this  manner  the  doctor  treated  his  patients,  frighten- 
ing with  his  madness  the  bad  devils  that  carry  disease. 
Another  witch  doctor  gave  his  patients  dirty,  muddy 
water,  which  I  learned  was  the  water  from  the  bath  of 
the  very  person  of  the  Living  Buddha  who  had  washed 
in  it  his  "divine"  body  born  from  the  sacred  flower  of 
the  lotus. 

"Om !   Om !"  both  witches  continuously  screamed. 

While  the  doctors  fought  with  the  devils,  the  ill  people 
were  left  to  themselves.  They  lay  in  high  fever  under 
the  heaps  of  sheepskins  and  overcoats,  were  delirious, 
raved  and  threw  themselves  about.  By  the  braziers 
squatted  adults  and  children  who  were  still  well,  indif- 
ferently chatting,  drinking  tea  and  smoking.  In  all  the 
yurtas  I  saw  the  diseased  and  the  dead  and  such  misery 
and  physical  horrors  as  cannot  be  described. 

And  I  thought:  "Oh,  Great  Jenghiz  Khan!  Why  did 
you  with  your  keen  understanding  of  the  whole  situation 
of  Asia  and  Europe,  you  who  devoted  all  your  life  to  the 
glory  of  the  name  of  the  Mongols,  why  did  you  not  give 
to  your  own  people,  who  preserve  their  old  morality, 
honesty  and  peaceful  customs,  the  enlightenment  that 
would  have  saved  them  from  such  death?  Your  bones 
in  the  mausoleum  at  Karakorum  being  destroyed  by  the 
centuries  that  pass  over  them  must  cry  out  against  the 
rapid  disappearance  of  your  formerly  great  people,  who 
were  feared  by  half  the  civilized  world!" 

Such  thoughts  filled  my  brain  when  I  saw  this  camp 
of  the  dead  tomorrow  and  when  I  heard  the  groans,  shout- 
ings and  raving  of  dying  men,  women  and  children. 
Somewhere  in  the  distance  the  dogs  were  howling  mourn- 


THE   NEST  OF  DEATH  139 

fully,  and  monotonously  the  drum  of  the  tired  witch 
rolled. 

"Forward!"  I  could  not  witness  longer  this  dark 
horror,  which  I  had  no  means  or  force  to  eradicate.  We 
quickly  passed  on  from  the  ominous  place.  Nor  could 
we  shake  the  thought  that  some  horrible  invisible  spirit 
was  following  us  from  this  scene  of  terror.  "The  devils 
of  disease  ?"  "The  pictures  of  horror  and  misery  ?"  "The 
souls  of  men  who  have  been  sacrificed  on  the  altar  of 
darkness  of  Mongolia?"  An  inexplicable  fear  penetrated 
into  our  consciousness  from  whose  grasp  we  could  not 
release  ourselves.  Only  when  we  had  turned  from  the 
road,  passed  over  a  timbered  ridge  into  a  bowl  in  the 
mountains  from  which  we  could  see  neither  Jahantsi 
Kure,  the  diigun  nor  the  squirming  grave  of  dying  Mon- 
gols could  we  breathe  freely  again. 

Presently  we  discovered  a  large  lake.  It  was  Tisingol. 
Near  the  shore  stood  a  large  Russian  house,  the  telegraph 
station  between  Kosogol  and  Uliassutai. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
AMONG  THE  MURDERERS 

AS  we  approached  the  telegraph  station,  we  were  met 
by  a  blonde  young  man  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
office,  Kanine  by  name.  With  some  little  confusion  he 
offered  us  a  place  in  his  house  for  the  night.  When  we 
entered  the  room,  a  tall,  lanky  man  rose  from  the  table 
and  indecisively  walked  toward  us,  looking  very  atten- 
tively at  us  the  while. 

"Guests  .  .  ."  explained  Kanine.  "They  are  going  to 
Khathyl.     Private  persons,  strangers,  foreigners  .  .  ." 

"A-h,"  drawled  the  stranger  in  a  quiet,  comprehending 
tone. 

While  we  were  untying  our  girdles  and  with  difficulty 
getting  out  of  our  great  Mongolian  coats,  the  tall  man 
was  animatedly  whispering  something  to  our  host.  As 
we  approached  the  table  to  sit  down  and  rest,  I  over- 
heard him  say :  "We  are  forced  to  postpone  it,"  and  saw 
Kanine  simply  nod  in  answer. 

Several  other  people  were  seated  at  the  table,  among 
them  the  assistant  of  Kanine,  a  tall  blonde  man  with  a 
white  face,  who  talked  like  a  Gatling  gun  about  every- 
thing imaginable.  He  was  half  crazy  and  his  semi- 
madness  expressed  itself  when  any  loud  talking,  shouting 
or  sudden  sharp  report  led  him  to  repeat  the  words  of 
the  one  to  whom  he  was  talking  at  the  time  or  to  relate 

140 


AMONG  THE   MURDERERS  141 

in  a  mechanical,  hurried  manner  stories  of  what  was 
happening  around  him  just  at  this  particular  juncture. 
The  wife  of  Kanine,  a  pale,  young,  exhausted-looking 
woman  witli  frightened  eyes  and  a  face  distorted  by  fear, 
was  also  tliere  and  near  her  a  young  girl  of  fifteen  with 
cropped  hair  and  dressed  like  a  man,  as  well  as  the  two 
small  sons  of  Kanine.  We  made  acquaintance  with  all 
of  them.  The  tall  stranger  called  himself  Gorokoff,  a 
Russian  colonist  from  Samgaltai,  and  presented  the  short- 
haired  girl  as  his  sister.  Kanine's  wife  looked  at  us  with 
plainly  discernible  fear  and  said  nothing,  evidently  dis- 
pleased over  our  being  there.  However,  we  had  no  choice 
and  consequently  began  drinking  tea  and  eating  our  bread 
and  cold  meat. 

Kanine  told  us  that  ever  since  the  telegraph  line  had 
been  destroyed  all  his  family  and  relatives  had  felt  very 
keenly  the  poverty  and  hardship  that  naturally  followed. 
The  Bolsheviki  did  not  send  him  any  salary  from  Irkutsk, 
so  that  he  was  compelled  to  shift  for  himself  as  best 
he  could.  They  cut  and  cured  hay  for  sale  to  the  Rus- 
sian colonists,  handled  private  messages  and  merchandise 
from  Khathyl  to  Uliassutai  and  Samgaltai,  bought  and 
sold  cattle,  hunted  and  in  tliis  manner  managed  to  exist. 
Gorokoff  announced  that  his  commercial  affairs  compelled 
him  to  go  to  Khathyl  and  that  he  and  his  sister  would  be 
glad  to  join  our  caravan.  He  had  a  most  unprepossessing, 
angry-looking  face  with  colorless  eyes  that  always 
avoided  those  of  the  person  with  whom  he  was  speaking. 
During  the  conversation  we  asked  Kanine  if  there  were 
Russian  colonists  near  by,  to  which  he  answered  with 
knitted  brow  and  a  look  of  disgust  on  his  face: 

"There  is  one  rich  old  man,  Bobroff,  who  lives  a  verst 


142  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

away  from  our  station;  but  I  would  not  advise  you  to 
visit  him.  He  is  a  miserly,  inhospitable  old  fellow  who 
does  not  like  guests." 

During  these  words  of  her  husband  Madame  Kanine 
dropped  her  eyes  and  contracted  her  shoulders  in  some- 
thing resembling  a  shudder.  Gorokoff  and  his  sister 
smoked  along  indifferently.  I  very  clearly  remarked  all 
this  as  well  as  the  hostile  tone  of  Kanine,  the  confusion 
of  his  wife  and  the  artificial  indifference  of  Gorokoff; 
and  I  determined  to  see  the  old  colonist  given  such  a 
bad  name  by  Kanine.  In  Uliassutai  I  knew  two  Bobroffs. 
I  said  to  Kanine  that  I  had  been  asked  to  hand  a  letter 
personally  to  Bobroff  and,  after  finishing  my  tea,  put  on 
my  overcoat  and  went  out. 

The  house  of  Bobroff  stood  in  a  deep  sink  in  the  moun- 
tains, surrounded  by  a  high  fence  over  which  the  low 
roofs  of  the  houses  could  be  seen.  A  light  shone  through 
the  window.  I  knocked  at  the  gate.  A  furious  barking 
of  dogs  answered  me  and  through  the  cracks  of  the  fence 
I  made  out  four  huge  black  Mongol  dogs,  showing  their 
teeth  and  growling  as  they  rushed  toward  the  gate.  Inside 
the  court  someone  opened  the  door  and  called  out:  "Who 
is  there?" 

I  answered  that  I  was  traveling  through  from  Ulias- 
sutai. The  dogs  were  first  caught  and  chained  and  I  was 
then  admitted  by  a  man  who  looked  me  over  very  care- 
fully and  inquiringly  from  head  to  foot,  A  revolver 
handle  stuck  out  of  his  pocket.  Satisfied  with  his  obser- 
vations and  learning  that  I  knew  his  relatives,  he  warmly 
welcomed  me  to  the  house  and  presented  me  to  his  wife, 
a  dignified  old  woman,  and  to  his  beautiful  little  adopted 
daughter,  a  girl  of  five  years.      She  had  been   found 


AMONG  THE   MURDERERS  143 

on  the  plain  beside  the  dead  body  of  her  mother  ex- 
hausted in  her  attempt  to  escape  from  the  Bolsheviki  in 
Siberia. 

Bobroff  told  me  that  the  Russian  detachment  of  Kaza- 
grandi  had  succeeded  in  driving  the  Red  troops  away 
from  the  Kosogol  and  that  we  could  consequently  con- 
tinue our  trip  to  Khathyl  without  danger. 

"Why  did  you  not  stop  with  me  instead  of  with  those 
brigands?"  asked  the  old  fellow. 

I  began  to  question  him  and  received  some  very  im- 
portant news.  It  seemed  that  Kanine  was  a  Bolshevik, 
the  agent  of  the  Irkutsk  Soviet,  and  stationed  here  for 
purposes  of  observation.  However,  now  he  was  rendered 
harmless,  because  the  road  between  him  and  Irkutsk  was 
interrupted.  Still  from  Biisk  in  the  Altai  country  had 
just  come  a  very  important  commissar. 

"Gorokoff?"  I  asked. 

"That's  what  he  calls  himself,"  replied  the  old  fellow ; 
"but  I  am  also  from  Biisk  and  I  know  everyone  there. 
His  real  name  is  Pouzikoff  and  the  short-haired  girl  with 
him  is  his  mistress.  He  is  the  commissar  of  the  'Cheka' 
and  she  is  the  agent  of  this  establishment.  Last  August 
the  two  of  them  shot  with  their  revolvers  seventy  bound 
officers  from  Kolchak's  army.  Villainous,  cowardly  mur- 
derers! Now  they  have  come  here  for  a  reconnaissance. 
They  wanted  to  stay  in  my  house  but  I  knew  them  too 
well  and  refused  them  place." 

"And  you  do  not  fear  him?"  I  asked,  remembering 
the  different  words  and  glances  of  these  people  as  they 
sat  at  the  table  in  the  station. 

"No,"  answered  the  old  man.  "I  know  how  to  defend 
myself  and  my  family  and  I  have  a  protector  too — my 


144  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

son,  such  a  shot,  a  rider  and  a  fighter  as  does  not  exist 
in  all  Mongolia.  I  am  very  sorry  that  you  will  not  make 
the  acquaintance  of  my  boy.  He  has  gone  off  to  the 
herds  and  will  return  only  tomorrow  evening." 

We  took  most  cordial  leave  of  each  other  and  I  prom- 
ised to  stop  with  him  on  my  return. 

"Well,  what  yams  did  Bobroff  tell  you  about  us?" 
was  the  question  with  which  Kanine  and  Gorokoff  met  me 
when  I  came  back  to  the  station. 

"Nothing  about  you,"  I  answered,  "because  he  did  not 
even  want  to  speak  with  me  when  he  found  out  that  I 
was  staying  in  your  house.  What  is  the  trouble  between 
you?"  I  asked  of  them,  expressing  complete  astonishment 
on  my  face. 

"It  is  an  old  score,"  growled  Gorokoff. 

"A  malicious  old  churl,"  Kanine  added  in  agreement, 
the  while  the  frightened,  suffering-laden  eyes  of  his  wife 
again  gave  expression  to  terrifying  horror,  as  if  she 
momentarily  expected  a  deadly  blow.  Gorokoff  began  to 
pack  his  luggage  in  preparation  for  the  journey  with  us 
the  following  morning.  We  prepared  our  simple  beds 
in  an  adjoining  room  and  went  to  sleep.  I  whispered  to 
my  friend  to  keep  his  revolver  handy  for  anything  that 
might  happen  but  he  only  smiled  as  he  dragged  his  re- 
volver and  his  ax  from  his  coat  to  place  them  under  his 
pillow. 

"This  people  at  the  outset  seemed  to  me  very  sus- 
picious," he  whispered.  "They  are  cooking  up  some- 
thing crooked.  Tomorrow  I  shall  ride  behind  this  Goro- 
koff and  shall  prepare  for  him  a  very  faithful  one  of  my 
bullets,  a  little  dum-dum." 

The  Mongols  spent  the  night  under  their  tent  in  the 


AMONG  THE   MURDERERS  145 

open  court  beside  their  camels,  because  they  wanted  to 
be  near  to  feed  them.  About  seven  o'clock  we  started. 
My  friend  took  up  his  post  as  rear  guard  to  our  caravan, 
keeping  all  the  time  behind  Grorokoff,  who  with  his  sister, 
both  armed  from  tip  to  toe,  rode  splendid  mounts. 

"How  have  you  kept  your  horses  in  such  fine  condi- 
tion coming  all  the  way  from  Samgaltai?"  I  inquired  as 
I  looked  over  their  fine  beasts. 

When  he  answered  that  these  belonged  to  his  host,  I 
realized  that  Kanine  was  not  so  poor  as  he  made  out; 
for  any  rich  Mongol  would  have  given  him  in  exchange 
for  one  of  these  lovely  animals  enough  sheep  to  have  kept 
his  household  in  mutton  for  a  whole  year. 

Soon  we  came  to  a  large  swamp  surrounded  by  dense 
brush,  where  I  was  much  astonished  by  seeing  literally 
hundreds  of  white  kuropatka  or  partridges.  Out  of  the 
water  rose  a  flock  of  duck  with  a  mad  rush  as  we  hove 
in  sight.  Winter,  cold  driving  wind,  snow  and  wild 
ducks!    The  Mongol  explained  it  to  me  thus: 

"This  swamp  always  remains  warm  and  never  freezes. 
The  wild  ducks  live  here  the  year  round  and  the  kuropatka 
too,  finding  fresh  food  in  the  soft  warm  earth." 

As  I  was  speaking  with  the  Mongol  I  noticed  over 
the  swamp  a  tongue  of  reddish-yellow  flame.  It  flashed 
and  disappeared  at  once  but  later,  on  the  farther  edge, 
two  further  tongues  ran  upward.  I  realized  that  here 
was  the  real  will-o'-the-wisp  surrounded  by  so  many  thou- 
sands of  legends  and  explained  so  simply  by  chemistry 
as  merely  a  flash  of  methane  or  swamp  gas  generated  by 
the  putrefying  of  vegetable  matter  in  the  warm  damp 
earth. 


146  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

"Here  dwell  the  demons  of  Adair,  who  are  in  perpetual 
war  with  those  of  Muren,"  explained  the  Mongol. 

"Indeed,"  I  thought,  "if  in  prosaic  Europe  in  our  days 
the  inhabitants  of  our  villages  believe  these  flames  to  be 
some  wild  sorcery,  then  surely  in  the  land  of  mystery 
they  must  be  at  least  the  evidences  of  war  between  the 
demons  of  two  neighboring  rivers !" 

After  passing  this  swamp  we  made  out  far  ahead  of 
us  a  large  monastery.  Though  this  was  some  half  mile 
off  the  road,  the  Gorokoffs  said  they  would  ride  over  to 
it  to  make  some  purchases  in  the  Chinese  shops  there. 
They  quickly  rode  away,  promising  to  overtake  us  shortly, 
but  we  did  not  see  them  again  for  a  while.  They  slipped 
away  without  leaving  any  trail  but  we  met  them  later  In 
very  unexpected  circumstances  of  fatal  portent  for  them. 
On  our  part  we  were  highly  satisfied  that  we  were  rid 
of  them  so  soon  and,  after  they  were  gone,  I  imparted 
to  my  friend  the  information  gleaned  from  Bobroff  the 
evening  before. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
ON  A  VOLCANO 

THE  following  evening  we  arrived  at  Khathyl,  a  small 
Russian  settlement  of  ten  scattered  houses  in  the 
valley  of  the  Egingol  or  Yaga,  which  here  takes  its  waters 
from  the  Kosogol  half  a  mile  above  the  village.  The 
Kosogol  is  a  huge  Alpine  lake,  deep  and  cold,  eighty-five 
miles  in  length  and  from  ten  to  thirty  in  width.  On  the 
western  shore  live  the  Darkhat  Soyots,  who  call  it  Hub- 
sugul,  the  Mongols,  Kosogol.  Both  the  Soyots  and  Mon- 
gols consider  this  a  terrible  and  sacred  lake.  It  is  very 
easy  to  understand  this  prejudice  because  the  lake  lies  in 
a  region  of  present  volcanic  activity,  where  in  the  sum- 
mer on  perfectly  calm  sunny  days  it  sometimes  lashes 
itself  into  great  waves  that  are  dangerous  not  only  to  the 
native  fishing  boats  but  also  to  the  large  Russian  passen- 
ger steamers  that  ply  on  the  lake.  In  winter  also  it  some- 
times entirely  breaks  up  its  covering  of  ice  and  gives  off 
great  cloud§  of  steam.  Evidently  the  bottom  of  the  lake 
is  sporadically  pierced  by  discharging  hot  springs  or,  per- 
haps, by  streams  of  lava.  Evidence  of  some  great  under- 
ground convulsion  like  this  is  afforded  by  the  mass  of 
killed  fish  which  at  times  dams  the  outlet  river  in  its 
shallow  places.  The  lake  is  exceedingly  rich  in  fish, 
chiefly  varieties  of  trout  and  salmon,  and  is  famous  for 
its  wonderful  "white  fish,"  which  was  previously  sent 

147 


148  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

all  over  Siberia  and  even  down  into  Manchuria  so  far 
as  Moukden.  It  is  fat  and  remarkably  tender  and  pro- 
duces fine  caviar.  Another  variety  in  the  lake  is  the  white 
khayrus  or  trout,  which  in  the  migration  season,  con- 
trary to  the  customs  of  most  fish,  goes  down  stream  into 
the  Yaga,  where  it  sometimes  fills  the  river  from  bank 
to  bank  with  swarms  of  backs  breaking  the  surface  of 
the  water.  However,  this  fish  is  not  caught,  because  it 
is  infested  with  worms  and  is  unfit  for  food.  Even  cats 
and  dogs  will  not  touch  it.  This  is  a  very  interesting 
phemonenon  and  was  being  investigated  and  studied  by 
Professor  Dorogostaisky  of  the  University  at  Irkutsk 
when  the  coming  of  the  Bolsheviki  interrupted  his  work. 
In  Khathyl  we  found  a  panic.  The  Russian  detach- 
ment of  Colonel  Kazagrandi,  after  having  twice  defeated 
the  Bolsheviki  and  well  on  its  march  against  Irkutsk, 
was  suddenly  r<"ndered  impotent  and  scattered  through 
internal  strife  among  the  officers.  The  Bolsheviki  took 
advantage  of  this  situation,  increased  their  forces  to  one 
thousand  men  and  began  a  forward  movement  to  recover 
what  they  had  lost,  while  the  remnants  of  Colonel  Kaza- 
grandi's  detachment  were  retreating  on  Khathyl,  where 
he  determined  to  make  his  last  stand  against  the  Reds. 
The  inhabitants  were  loading  their  movable  property  with 
their  families  into  carts  and  scurrying  away  from  the 
town,  leaving  all  their  cattle  and  horses  to  whomsoever 
should  have  the  power  to  seize  and  hold  them.  One  party 
intended  to  hide  in  the  dense  larch  forest  and  the  moun- 
tain ravines  not  far  away,  while  another  party  made 
southward  for  Muren  Kure  and  Uliassutai.  The  morn- 
ing following  our  arrival  the  Mongol  official  received 
word  that  the  Red  troops  had  outflanked  Colonel  Kaza* 


ON  A  VOLCANO  149 

•^randl's  men  and  were  approaching  Khathyl,  The  Mon- 
gol loaded  his  documents  and  his  servants  on  eleven 
camels  and  left  his  yamen.  Our  Mongol  guides,  without 
ever  saying  a  word  to  us,  secretly  slipped  off  with  him 
and  left  us  without  camels.  Our  situation  thus  became 
desperate.  We  hastened  to  the  colonists  who  had  not 
yet  got  away  to  bargain  with  them  for  camels,  but  they 
had  previously,  in  anticipation  of  trouble,  sent  their  herds 
to  distant  Mongols  and  so  could  do  nothing  to  help  us. 
Then  we  betook  ourselves  to  Dr.  V.  G.  Gay,  a  veterinarian 
living  in  the  town,  famous  throughout  Mongolia  for  his 
battle  against  rinderpest.  He  lived  here  with  his  family 
and  after  being  forced  to  give  up  his  government  work 
became  a  cattle  dealer.  He  was  a  most  interesting  person, 
clever  and  energetic,  and  the  one  who  had  been  appointed 
under  the  Czarist  regime  to  purchase  all  the  meat  sup- 
pHes  from  Mongolia  for  the  Russian  Army  on  the  Cicr- 
man  Front.  He  organized  a  huge  enterprise  in  Mon- 
golia but  when  the  Bolsheviki  seized  power  in  191 7  he 
transferred  his  allegiance  and  began  to  work  with  them. 
Then  in  May,  19 18,  when  the  Kolchak  forces  drove  the 
Bolsheviki  out  of  Siberia,  he  was  arrested  and  taken  for 
trial.  However,  he  was  released  because  he  was  looked 
upon  as  the  single  individual  to  organize  this  big  Mon- 
golian enterprise  and  he  handed  to  Admiral  Kolchak  all 
the  supplies  of  meat  and  the  silver  formerly  received  from 
the  Soviet  commissars.  At  this  time  Gay  had  been  serv- 
ing as  the  chief  organizer  and  supplier  of  the  forces  of 
Kazagrandi. 

When  we  went  to  him,  he  at  once  suggested  that  we 
take  the  only  thing  left,  some  poor,  broken-down  horses 
which  would  be  able  to  carry  us  the  sixty  miles  to  Muren 


I50  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

Kure,  where  we  could  secure  camels  to  return  to  Ulias- 
sutai.  However,  even  these  were  being  kept  some  dis- 
tance from  the  town  so  that  we  should  have  to  spend 
the  night  there,  the  night  in  which  the  Red  troops  were 
expected  to  arrive.  Also  we  were  much  astonished  to 
see  that  Gay  was  remaining  there  with  his  family  right 
up  to  the  time  of  the  expected  arrival  of  the  Reds.  The 
only  others  in  the  town  were  a  few  Cossacks,  who  had 
been  ordered  to  stay  behind  to  watch  the  movements  of  the 
Red  troops.  The  night  came.  My  friend  and  I  were  pre- 
pared either  to  fight  or,  in  the  last  event,  to  commit  suicide. 
We  stayed  in  a  small  house  near  the  Yaga,  where  some 
workmen  were  living  who  could  not,  and  did  not  feel  it 
necessary  to,  leave.  They  went  up  on  a  hill  from  which 
they  could  scan  the  whole  country  up  to  the  range  from 
behind  which  the  Red  detachment  must  appear.  From 
this  vantage  point  in  the  forest  one  of  the  workmen  came 
running  in  and  cried  out: 

"Woe,  woe  to  us !  The  Reds  have  arrived.  A  horse- 
man is  galloping  fast  through  the  forest  road.  I  called 
to  him  but  he  did  not  answer  me.  It  was  dark  but  I 
knew  the  horse  was  a  strange  one." 

"Do  not  babble  so!"  said  another  of  the  workmen, 
"Some  Mongol  rode  by  and  you  jumped  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  he  was  a  Red." 

"No,  it  was  not  a  Mongol,"  he  replied.  "The  horse 
was  shod.  I  heard  the  sound  of  iron  shoes  on  the  road- 
Woe  to  us !" 

"Well,"  said  my  friend,  "it  seems  that  this  is  our 
finish.    It  is  a  silly  way  for  it  all  to  end." 

He  was  right.  Just  then  there  was  a  knock  at  our 
door  but  it  was  that  of  the  Mongol  bringing  us  three 


ON  A  VOLCANO  151 

horses  for  our  escape.  Immediately  we  saddled  them, 
packed  the  third  beast  with  our  tent  and  food  and  rode 
off  at  once  to  take  leave  of  Gay. 

In  his  house  we  found  the  whole  war  council.  Two 
or  three  colonists  and  several  Cossacks  had  galloped  from 
the  mountains  and  announced  that  the  Red  detachment 
was  approaching  Khathyl  but  would  remain  for  the  night 
in  the  forest,  where  they  were  building  campfires.  In 
fact,  through  the  house  windows  we  could  see  the  glare 
of  the  fires.  It  seemed  very  strange  that  the  enemy 
should  await  the  morning  there  in  the  forest  when  they 
were  right  on  the  village  they  wished  to  capture. 

An  armed  Cossack  entered  the  room  and  announced 
that  two  armed  men  from  the  detachment  were  approach- 
ing. All  the  men  in  the  room  pricked  up  their  ears.  Out- 
side were  heard  the  horses'  hoofs  followed  by  men's 
voices  and  a  knock  at  the  door. 

"Come  in,"  said  Gay. 

Two  young  men  entered,  their  moustaches  and  beards 
white  and  their  cheeks  blazing  red  from  the  cold.  They 
were  dressed  in  the  common  Siberian  overcoat  with  the 
big  Astrakhan  caps,  but  they  had  no  weapons.  Ques- 
tions began.  It  developed  that  it  was  a  detachment  of 
White  peasants  from  the  Irkutsk  and  Yakutsk  districts 
who  had  been  fighting  with  the  Bolsheviki.  They  had 
been  defeated  somewhere  in  the  vicinity  of  Irkutsk  and 
were  now  trying  to  rr^ke  a  junction  with  Kazagrandi. 
The  leader  of  this  band  was  a  socialist,  Captain  Vassi- 
lieff,  who  had  suffered  much  under  the  Czar  because  of 
his  tenets. 

Our  troubles  had  vanished  but  we  decided  to  start  im- 
mediately to  Muren  Kure,  as  we  had  gathered  our  infor- 


152  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

mation  and  were  in  a  hurry  to  make  our  report.  We 
started.  On  the  road  we  overtook  three  Cossacks  who 
were  going  out  to  bring  back  the  colonists  who  were 
fleeing  to  the  south.  We  joined  them  and,  dismounting, 
we  all  led  our  horses  over  the  ice.  The  Yaga  was  mad. 
The  subterranean  forces  produced  underneath  the  ice 
great  heaving  waves  which  with  a  swirling  roar  threw 
up  and  tore  loose  great  sections  of  ice,  breaking  them  into 
small  blocks  and  sucking  them  under  the  unbroken  down- 
stream field.  Cracks  ran  like  snakes  over  the  surface  in 
different  directions.  One  of  the  Cossacks  fell  into  one 
of  these  but  we  had  just  time  to  save  him.  He  was  forced 
by  his  ducking  in  such  extreme  cold  to  turn  back  to 
Khathyl.  Our  horses  slipped  about  and  fell  several  times. 
Men  and  animals  felt  the  presence  of  death  which  hovered 
over  them  and  momentarily  threatened  them  with  de- 
struction. At  last  we  made  the  farther  bank  and  con- 
tinued southward  down  the  valley,  glad  to  have  left  the 
geological  and  figurative  volcanoes  behind  us.  Ten  miles 
farther  on  we  came  up  with  the  first  party  of  refugees. 
They  had  spread  a  big  tent  and  made  a  fire  inside,  filling 
it  with  warmth  and  smoke.  Their  camp  was  made  beside 
the  establishment  of  a  large  Chinese  trading  house,  where 
the  owners  refused  to  let  the  colonists  come  into  their 
amply  spacious  buildings,  even  though  there  were  chil- 
dren, women  and  invalids  among  the  refugees.  We  spent 
but  half  an  hour  here.  The  road  as  we  continued  was 
easy,  save  in  places  where  the  snow  lay  deep.  We  crossed 
the  fairly  high  divide  between  the  Egingol  and  Muren. 
Near  the  pass  one  very  unexpected  event  occurred  to  us. 
We  crossed  the  mouth  of  a  fairly  wide  valley  whose  upper 
end  was  covered  with  a  dense  wood.    Near  this  wood  we 


ON  A  VOLCANO  153 

noticed  two  horsemen,  evidently  watching  us.  Their  man- 
ner of  sitting  in  their  saddles  and  the  character  of  their 
horses  told  us  that  they  were  not  Mongols.  We  began 
shouting  and  waving  to  them;  but  they  did  not  answer. 
Out  of  the  wood  emerged  a  third  and  stopped  to  look  at 
us.  We  decided  to  interview  them  and,  whipping  up  our 
horses,  galloped  toward  them.  When  we  were  about  one 
thousand  yards  from  them,  they  slipped  from  their  sad- 
dles and  opened  on  us  with  a  running  fire.  Fortunately 
we  rode  a  little  apart  and  thus  made  a  poor  target  for 
them.  We  jumped  off  our  horses,  dropped  prone  on 
the  ground  and  prepared  to  fight.  However,  we 
did  not  fire  because  we  thought  it  might  be  a  mis- 
take on  their  part,  thinking  that  we  were  Reds. 
They  shortly  made  off.  Their  shots  from  the 
European  rifles  had  given  us  further  proof  that  they 
were  not  Mongols.  We  waited  until  they  had  disappeared 
into  the  woods  and  then  went  forward  to  investigate  their 
tracks,  which  we  found  were  those  of  shod  horses,  clearly 
corroborating  the  earlier  evidence  that  they  were  not 
Mongols.  Who  could  they  have  been?  We  never  found 
out;  yet  what  a  different  relationship  they  might  have 
borne  to  our  lives,  had  their  shots  been  true! 

After  we  had  passed  over  the  divide,  we  met  the  Rus- 
sian colonist  D.  A.  Teternikoff  from  Muren  Kure,  who 
invited  us  to  stay  in  his  house  and  promised  to  secure 
camels  for  us  from  the  Lamas.  The  cold  was  intense  and 
heightened  by  a  piercing  wind.  During  the  day  we  froze 
to  the  bone  but  at  night  thawed  and  warmed  up  nicely 
by  our  tent  stove.  After  two  days  we  entered  the  valley 
of  Muren  and  from  afar  made  out  the  square  of  the 
Kure    with    its    Chinese   roofs    and    large    red    temples. 


154  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

Nearby  was  a  second  square,  the  Chinese  and  Russian 
settlement.  Two  hours  more  brought  us  to  the  house  of 
our  hospitable  companion  and  his  attractive  young  wife 
who  feasted  us  with  a  wonderful  luncheon  of  tasty  dishes. 
We  spent  five  days  at  Muren  waiting  for  the  camels  to 
be  engaged.  During  this  time  many  refugees  arrived  from 
Khathyl  because  Colonel  Kazagrandi  was  gradually  fall- 
ing back  upon  the  town.  Among  others  there  were  two 
Colonels,  Plavako  and  Maklakoff,  who  had  caused  the 
disruption  of  the  Kazagrandi  force.  No  sooner  had  the 
refugees  appeared  in  Muren  Kure  than  the  Mongolian 
officials  announced  that  the  Chinese  authorities  had 
ordered  them  to  drive  out  all  Russian  refugees. 

"Where  can  we  go  now  in  winter  with  women  and 
children  and  no  homes  of  our  own?"  asked  the  distraught 
refugees. 

"That  is  of  no  moment  to  us,"  answered  the  Mongo- 
lian officials.  "The  Chinese  authorities  are  angry  and 
have  ordered  us  to  drive  you  away.  We  cannot  help  you 
at  all." 

The  refugees  had  to  leave  Muren  Kure  and  so  erected 
their  tents  in  the  open  not  far  away.  Plavako  and  Mak- 
lakoff bought  horses  and  started  out  for  Van  Kure.  Long 
afterwards  I  learned  that  both  had  been  killed  by  the 
Chinese  along  the  road. 

We  secured  three  camels  and  started  out  with  a  large 
group  of  Chinese  merchants  and  Russian  refugees  to 
make  Uliassutai,  preserving  the  warmest  recollections  of 
our  courteous  hosts,  T.  V.  and  D.  A.  Teternikoff.  For 
the  trip  we  had  to  pay  for  our  camels  the  very  high  price 
of  33  Ian  of  the  silver  bullion  which  had  been  supplied 
us  by  an  American  firm  in  Uliassutai,  the  equivalent 
roughly  of  2.7  pounds  of  the  white  metal. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

A  BLOODY  CHASTISEMENT 

"DEFORE  long  we  struck  the  road  which  we  had 
"^  travelled  coming  north  and  saw  again  the  kindly 
rows  of  chopped  down  telegraph  poles  which  had  once 
so  warmly  protected  us.  Over  the  timbered  hillocks  north 
of  the  valley  of  Tisingol  we  wended  just  as  it  was  grow- 
ing dark.  We  decided  to  stay  in  Bobroff's  house  and  our 
companions  thought  to  seek  the  hospitality  of  Kaninc  in 
the  telegraph  station.  At  the  station  gate  we  found  a 
soldier  with  a  rifle,  who  questioned  us  as  to  who  we  were 
and  whence  we  had  come  and,  being  apparently  satisfied, 
whistled  out  a  young  officer  from  the  house. 

"Lieutenant  Ivanoff,"  he  introduced  himself.  "I  am 
staying  here  with  my  detachment  of  White  Partisans." 

He  had  come  from  near  Irkutsk  with  his  following  of 
ten  men  and  had  formed  a  connection  with  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Michailoff  at  Uliassutai,  who  commanded  him  to 
take  possession  of  this  blockhouse. 

"Enter,  please,"  he  said  hospitably. 

I  explained  to  him  that  I  wanted  to  stay  with  BobrofT, 
whereat  he  made  a  despairing  gesture  with  his  hand  and 
said : 

"Don't  trouble  yourself.  The  Bobroffs  are  killed  and 
their  house  burned." 

I  could  not  keep  back  a  cry  of  horror. 

15.5 


1S6  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

The  Lieutenant  continued:  "Kanine  and  the  Pouzikoffs 
killed  them,  pillaged  the  place  and  afterwards  burned  the 
house  with  their  dead  bodies  in  it.  Do  you  want  to 
see  it?" 

My  friend  and  I  went  with  the  Lieutenant  and  looked 
over  the  ominous  site.  Blackened  uprights  stood  among 
charred  beams  and  planks  while  crockery  and  iron  pots 
and  pans  were  scattered  all  around.  A  little  to  one  side 
under  some  felt  lay  the  remains  of  the  four  unfortunate 
individuals.     The  Lieutenant  first  spoke: 

'T  reported  the  case  to  Uliassutai  and  received  word 
back  that  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  would  come  with 
two  officers,  who  would  investigate  the  affair.  That  is 
why  I  cannot  bury  the  bodies." 

"How  did  it  happen?"  we  asked,  oppressed  by  the  sad 
picture. 

"It  was  like  this,"  he  began.  "I  was  approaching 
Tisingol  at  night  with  my  ten  soldiers.  Fearing  that  there 
might  be  Reds  here,  we  sneaked  up  to  the  station  and 
looked  into  the  windows.  We  saw  Pouzikoff,  Kanine  and 
the  short-haired  girl,  looking  over  and  dividing  clothes 
and  other  things  and  weighing  lumps  of  silver.  I  did 
not  at  once  grasp  the  significance  of  all  this;  but,  feeling 
the  need  for  continued  caution,  ordered  one  of  my  soldiers 
to  climb  the  fence  and  open  the  gate.  We  rushed  into 
the  court.  The  first  to  run  from  the  house  was  Kanine's 
wife,  who  threw  up  her  hands  and  shrieked  in  fear : 
"I  knew  that  misfortune  would  come  of  all  this!"  and 
then  fainted.  One  of  the  men  ran  out  of  a  side  door 
to  a  shed  in  the  yard  and  there  tried  to  get  over  the 
fence.  I  had  not  noticed  him  but  one  of  my  soldiers 
caught  him.     We  were  met  at  the  door  by  Kanine,  who 


A  BLOODY  CHASTISEMENT  157 

was  white  and  trembling.  I  realized  that  something  im- 
portant had  taken  place,  placed  them  all  under  arrest, 
ordered  the  men  tied  and  placed  a  close  guard.  All  my 
questions  were  met  with  silence  save  by  Madame  Kanine 
who  cried:  'Pity,  pity  for  the  children!  They  are  inno- 
cent!' as  she  dropped  on  her  knees  and  stretched  out  her 
hands  in  supplication  to  us.  The  short-haired  girl 
laughed  out  of  impudent  eyes  and  blew  a  puff  of  smoke 
into  my  face.    I  was  forced  to  threaten  them  and  said: 

"  'I  know  that  you  have  committed  some  crime,  but 
you  do  not  want  to  confess.  If  you  do  not,  I  shall  shoot 
the  men  and  take  the  women  to  Uliassutai  to  try  them 
there.' 

"I  spoke  with  definiteness  of  voice  and  intention,  for 
they  roused  my  deepest  anger.  Quite  to  my  surprise  the 
short-haired  girl  first  began  to  speak. 

**  *I  want  to  tell  you  about  everything,'  she  said. 

"I  ordered  ink,  paper  and  pen  brought  me.  My  soldiers 
were  the  witnesses.  Then  I  prepared  the  protocol  of  the 
confession  of  Pouzikoff's  wife.  This  was  her  dark  and 
bloody  tale. 

"  'My  husband  and  I  are  Bolshevik  commissars  and 
we  have  been  sent  to  find  out  how  many  White  officers 
are  hidden  in  Mongolia.  But  the  old  fellow  Bobroff 
knew  us.  We  wanted  to  go  away  but  Kanine  kept  us, 
telling  us  that  Bobroff  was  rich  and  that  he  had  for  a 
long  time  wanted  to  kill  him  and  pillage  his  place.  We 
agreed  to  join  him.  We  decoyed  the  young  Bobroff  to 
come  and  play  cards  with  us.  When  he  was  going  home 
my  husband  stole  along  behind  and  shot  him.  After- 
wards we  all  went  to  Bobroff's  place.  I  climbed  upon 
the  fence  and  threw  some  poisoned  meat  to  the  dogs,  who 


158  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

were  dead  in  a  few  minutes.  Then  we  all  climbed  over. 
The  first  person  to  emerge  from  the  house  was  Bobroff's 
wife.  Pouzikoff,  who  was  hidden  behind  the  door,  killed 
her  with  his  ax.  The  old  fellow  we  killed  with  a  blow 
of  the  ax  as  he  slept.  The  little  girl  ran  out  into  the 
room  as  she  heard  the  noise  and  Kanine  shot  her  in  the 
head  with  buckshot.  Afterwards  we  looted  the  house  and 
burned  it,  even  destroying  the  horses  and  cattle.  Later 
all  would  have  been  completely  burned,  so  that  no  traces 
remained,  but  you  suddenly  arrived  and  these  stupid  fel- 
lows at  once  betrayed  us.' 

"It  was  a  dastardly  affair,"  continued  the  Lieutenant, 
as  we  returned  to  the  station.  "The  hair  raised  on  my 
head  as  I  listened  to  the  calm  description  of  this  young 
woman,  hardly  more  than  a  girl.  Only  then  did  I  fully 
realize  what  depravity  Bolshevism  had  brought  into  the 
world,  crushing  out  faith,  fear  of  God  and  conscience. 
Only  then  did  I  understand  that  all  honest  people  must 
fight  without  compromise  against  this  most  dangerous 
enemy  of  mankind,  so  long  as  life  and  strength  endure." 

As  we  walked  I  noticed  at  the  side  of  the  road  a  black 
spot.    It  attracted  and  fixed  my  attention. 

"What  is  that?"  I  asked,  pointing  to  the  spot. 

"It  is  the  murderer  Pouzikoff  whom  I  shot,"  answered 
the  Lieutenant.  "I  would  have  shot  both  Kanine  and 
the  wife  of  Pouzikoff  but  I  was  sorry  for  Kanine's  wife 
and  children  and  I  haven't  learned  the  lesson  of  shooting 
women.  Now  I  shall  send  them  along  with  you  under 
the  surveillance  of  my  soldiers  to  Uliassutai.  The  same 
result  will  come,  for  the  Mongols  who  try  them  for  the 
murder  will  surely  kill  them." 

This  is  what  happened  at  Tisingol,  on  whose  shores  the 


A  BLOODY  CHASTISEMENT  159 

will-o'-the-wisp  flits  over  the  marshy  pools  and  near  which 
runs  the  cleavage  of  over  two  hundred  miles  that  the  last 
earthquake  left  in  the  surface  of  the  land.  Maybe  it  was 
out  of  this  cleavage  that  Pouzikoff,  Kanine  and  the  others 
who  have  sought  to  infect  the  whole  world  with  horror 
and  crime  made  their  appearance  from  the  land  of  the 
inferno.  One  of  Lieutenant  Ivanoff's  soldiers,  who  was 
always  praying  and  pale,  called  them  all  "the  serv^ants  of 
Satan." 

Our  trip  from  Tisingol  to  Uliassutai  in  the  company 
of  these  criminals  was  very  unpleasant.  My  friend  and 
I  entirely  lost  our  usual  strength  of  spirit  and  healthy 
frame  of  mind.  Kanine  persistently  brooded  and  thought 
while  the  impudent  woman  laughed,  smoked  and  joked 
with  the  soldiers  and  several  of  our  companions.  At  last 
we  crossed  the  Jagisstai  and  in  a  few  hours  descried  at 
first  the  fortress  and  then  the  low  adobe  houses  huddled 
on  the  plain,  which  we  knew  to  be  Uliassutai. 


CHAPTER  XXV 
HARASSING  DAYS 

ONCE  more  we  found  ourselves  in  the  whirl  of  events. 
During  our  fortnight  away  a  great  deal  had  hap- 
pened here.  The  Chinese  Commissioner  Wang  Tsao-tsun 
had  sent  eleven  envoys  to  Urga  but  none  had  returned. 
The  situation  in  Mongolia  remained  far  from  clear.  The 
Russian  detachment  had  been  increased  by  the  arrival  of 
new  colonists  and  secretly  continued  its  illegal  existence, 
although  the  Chinese  knew  about  it  through  their  omni- 
present system  of  spies.  In  the  town  no  Russian  or  for- 
eign citizens  left  their  houses  and  all  remained  armed 
and  ready  to  act.  At  night  armed  sentinels  stood  guard 
in  all  their  court-yards.  It  was  the  Chinese  who  induced 
such  precautions.  By  order  of  their  Commissioner  all  the 
Chinese  merchants  with  stocks  of  rifles  armed  their  staffs 
and  handed  over  any  surplus  guns  to  the  oflicials,  who 
with  these  formed  and  equipped  a  force  of  two  hundred 
coolies  into  a  special  garrison  of  gamins.  Then  they  took 
possession  of  the  Mongolian  arsenal  and  distributed  these 
additional  guns  among  the  Chinese  vegetable  farmers  in 
the  nagan  hushun,  where  there  was  always  a  floating  pop- 
ulation of  the  lowest  grade  of  transient  Chinese  laborers. 
This  trash  of  China  now  felt  themselves  strong,  gathered 
together  in  excited  discussions  and  evidently  were  pre- 
paring for  some  outburst  of  aggression.     At  night  the 

160 


HARASSING   DAYS  i6i 

coolies  transported  many  boxes  of  cartridges  from  the 
Chinese  shops  to  the  nagan  hushun  and  the  behaviour  of 
the  Chinese  mob  became  unbearably  audacious.  These 
coolies  and  gamins  impertinently  stopped  and  searched 
people  right  on  the  streets  and  sought  to  provoke  fights 
that  would  allow  them  to  take  anything  they  wanted. 
Through  secret  news  we  received  from  certain  Chinese 
quarters  we  learned  that  the  Chinese  were  preparing  a 
pogrom  for  all  the  Russians  and  Mongols  in  Uliassutai. 
We  fully  realized  that  it  was  only  necessary  to  fire  one 
single  house  at  the  right  part  of  the  town  and  the  entire 
settlement  of  wooden  buildings  would  go  up  in  flames. 
The  whole  population  prepared  to  defend  themselves,  in- 
creased the  sentinels  in  the  compounds,  appointed  leaders 
for  certain  sections  of  the  town,  organized  a  special  fire 
brigade  and  prepared  horses,  carts  and  food  for  a  hasty 
flight.  The  situation  became  worse  when  news  arrived 
from  Kobdo  that  the  Chinese  there  had  made  a  pogrom, 
killing  some  of  the  inhabitants  and  burning  the  whole 
town  after  a  wild  looting  orgy.  Most  of  the  people  got 
away  to  the  forests  on  the  mountains  but  it  was  at  night 
and  consequently  without  warm  clothes  and  without  food. 
During  the  following  days  these  mountains  around  Kobdo 
heard  many  cries  of  misfortune,  woe  and  death.  The 
severe  cold  and  hunger  killed  off  the  women  and  children 
out  under  the  open  sky  of  the  Mongolian  winter.  This 
news  was  soon  known  to  the  Chinese.  They  laughed  in 
mockery  and  soon  organized  a  big  meeting  at  the  iiagan 
hiishim  to  discuss  letting  the  mob  and  gamins  loose  on 
the  town. 

A  young  Chinese,  the  son  of  a  cook  of  one  of  the 
colonists,  revealed  this  news.     We  immediately  decided 


1 62  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

to  make  an  investigation.  A  Russian  officer  and  my 
friend  joined  me  with  this  young  Chinese  as  a  guide  for 
a  trip  to  the  outskirts  of  the  town.  We  feigned  simply 
a  stroll  but  were  stopped  by  the  Chinese  sentinel  on  the 
side  of  the  city  toward  the  nagan  hiishun  with  an  imper- 
tinent command  that  no  one  was  allowed  to  leave  the 
town.  As  we  spoke  with  him,  I  noticed  that  between  the 
town  and  the  nagan  hushun  Chinese  guards  were  sta- 
tioned all  along  the  way  and  that  streams  of  Chinese  were 
moving  in  that  direction.  We  saw  at  once  it  was  im- 
possible to  reach  the  meeting  from  this  approach,  so  we 
chose  another  route.  We  left  the  city  from  the  eastern 
side  and  passed  along  by  the  camp  of  the  Mongolians 
who  had  been  reduced  to  beggary  by  the  Chinese  imposi- 
tions. There  also  they  were  evidently  anxiously  awaiting 
the  turn  of  events,  for,  in  spite  of  the  lateness  of  the  hour, 
none  had  gone  to  sleep.  We  slipped  out  on  the  ice  and 
worked  around  by  the  river  to  the  nagan  husJiiin.  As  we 
passed  free  of  the  city  we  began  to  sneak  cautiously  along, 
taking  advantage  of  every  bit  of  cover.  We  were  armed 
with  revolvers  and  hand  grenades  and  knew  that  a  small 
detachment  had  been  prepared  in  the  town  to  come  to  our 
aid,  if  we  should  be  in  danger.  First  the  young  Chinese 
stole  forward  with  my  friend  following  him  like  a 
shadow,  constantly  reminding  him  that  he  would  strangle 
him  like  a  mouse  if  he  made  one  move  to  betray  us.  I 
fear  the  young  guide  did  not  greatly  enjoy  the  trip  with 
my  gigantic  friend  puffing  all  too  loudly  with  the  unusual, 
exertions.  At  last  the  fences  of  nagan  Jinshim  were  in 
sight  and  nothing  between  us  and  them  save  the  open 
plain,  where  our  group  would  have  been  easily  spotted; 
so  that  we  decided  to  crawl  up  one  by  one,  save  that  the 


HARASSING  DAYS  163 

Chinese  was  retained  in  the  society  of  my  trusted  friend. 
Fortunately  there  were  many  heaps  of  frozen  manure 
on  the  plain,  which  we  made  use  of  as  cover  to  lead  us 
right  up  to  our  objective  point,  the  fence  of  the  enclo- 
sures. In  the  shadow  of  this  we  slunk  along  to  the  court- 
yard where  the  voices  of  the  excited  crowd  beckoned  us. 
As  we  took  good  vantage  points  in  the  darkness  for  listen- 
ing and  making  observations,  we  remarked  two  extraor- 
dinary things  in  our  immediate  neighborhood. 

Another  invisible  guest  was  present  with  us  at  the 
Chinese  gathering.  He  lay  on  the  ground  with  his  head 
in  a  hole  dug  by  the  dogs  under  the  fence.  He  was  per- 
fectly still  and  evidently  had  not  heard  our  advance. 
Nearby  in  a  ditch  lay  a  white  horse  with  his  nose  muzzled 
and  a  little  further  away  stood  another  saddled  horse  tied 
to  a  fence. 

In  the  courtyard  there  was  a  great  hubbub.  About  two 
thousand  men  were  shouting,  arguing  and  flourishing 
their  arms  about  in  wild  gesticulations.  Nearly  all  were 
armed  with  rifles,  revolvers,  swords  and  axes.  In  among 
the  crowd  circulated  the  gamins,  constantly  talking, 
handing  out  papers,  explaining  and  assuring.  Finally  a 
big,  broad-shouldered  Chinese  mounted  the  well  combing, 
waved  his  rifle  about  over  his  head  and  opened  a  tirade 
in  strong,  sharp  tones. 

"He  is  assuring  the  people,"  said  our  interpreter,  "that 
they  must  do  here  what  the  Chinese  have  done  in  Kobdo 
and  must  secure  from  the  Commissioner  the  assurance 
of  an  order  to  his  guard  not  to  prevent  the  carrying  out 
of  their  plans.  Also  that  the  Chinese  Commissioner  must 
demand  from  the  Russians  all  their  weapons.  'Then  we 
shall  take  vengeance  on  the  Russians  for  their  Blago- 


i64  BEAvSTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

veschensk  crime  when  they  drowned  three  thousand 
Chinese  in  1900.  You  remain  here  while  I  go  to  the 
Commissioner  and  talk  with  him.'  " 

He  jumped  down  from  the  well  and  quickly  made  his 
way  to  the  gate  toward  the  town.  At  once  I  saw  the  man 
who  was  lying  with  his  head  under  the  fence  draw  back 
out  of  his  hole,  take  his  white  horse  from  the  ditch  and 
then  run  over  to  untie  the  other  horse  and  lead  them 
both  back  to  our  side,  which  was  away  from  the  city.  He 
left  the  second  horse  there  and  hid  himself  around  the 
corner  of  the  hn^hiin.  The  spokesman  went  out  of  the 
gate  and,  seeing  his  horse  over  on  the  other  side  of  the 
enclosure,  slung  his  rifle  across  his  back  and  started  for 
his  mount.  He  had  gone  about  half  way  when  the 
stranger  behind  the  corner  of  the  fence  suddenly  galloped 
out  and  in  a  flash  literally  swung  the  man  clear  from  the 
ground  up  across  the  pommel  of  his  saddle,  where  we  saw 
him  tie  the  mouth  of  the  semi-strangled  Chinese  with  a 
cloth  and  dash  off  with  him  toward  the  west  away  from 
the  town. 

"Who  do  you  suppose  he  is?"  I  asked  of  my  friend, 
who  answered  up  at  once:  "It  must  be  Tushegoun 
Lama.  .  .  ." 

His  whole  appearance  did  strongly  remind  me  of  this 
mysterious  Lama  avenger  and  his  manner  of  addressing 
himself  to  his  enemy  was  a  strict  replica  of  that  of  Tushe- 
goun. Late  in  the  night  we  learned  that  some  time  after 
their  orator  had  gone  to  seek  the  Commissioner's  coop- 
eration in  their  venture,  his  head  had  been  flung  over  the 
fence  into  the  midst  of  the  waiting  audience  and  that 
eight  gamins  had  disappeared  on  their  way  from  the 
hushun  to  the  town  without  leaving  trace  or  trail.     This 


HARASSING   DAYS  163 

event  terrorized  the  Chinese  mob  and  calmed  their  heated 
spirits. 

The  next  day  we  received  very  unexpected  aid.  A 
young  Mongol  galloped  in  from  Urga,  his  overcoat  torn, 
his  hair  all  dishevelled  and  fallen  to  his  shoulders  and  a 
revolver  prominent  beneath  his  girdle.  Proceeding  di- 
rectly to  the  market  where  the  Mongols  are  always  gath- 
ered, without  leaving  his  saddle  he  cried  out: 

"Urga  is  captured  by  our  Mongols  and  Chiang  Chiin 
Baron  Ungern !  Bogdo  Hutuktu  is  once  more  our  Khan ! 
Mongols,  kill  the  Chinese  and  pillage  their  shops!  Our 
patience  is  exhausted !" 

Through  the  crowd  rose  the  roar  of  excitement.  The 
rider  was  surrounded  with  a  mob  of  insistent  questioners. 
The  old  Mongol  Sait,  Chultun  Beyli,  who  had  been  dis- 
missed by  the  Chinese,  was  at  once  informed  of  this  news 
and  asked  to  have  the  messenger  brought  to  him.  After 
questioning  the  man  he  arrested  him  for  inciting  the 
people  to  riot,  but  he  refused  to  turn  him  ovei  to 
the  Chinese  authorities.  I  was  personally  with  the  Sait 
at  the  time  and  heard  his  decision  in  the  matter.  When 
the  Chinese  Commissioner,  Wang  Tsao-tsun,  threatened 
the  Sait  for  disobedience  to  his  authority,  the  old  man 
simply  fingered  his  rosary  and  said: 

"Ibelieve  the  story  of  this  Mongol  in  its  every  word 
and  I  apprehend  that  you  and  I  shall  soon  have  to  reverse 
our  relationship." 

I  felt  that  Wang  Tsao-tsun  also  accepted  the  correct- 
ness of  the  Mongol's  story,  because  he  did  not  insist  fur- 
ther. From  this  moment  the  Chinese  disappeared  from 
the  streets  of  Uliassutai  as  though  they  never  had  been, 
and  synchronously  the  patrols  of  the  Russian  officers  and 


i66  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

of  our  foreign  colony  took  tlieir  places.  The  panic  among 
the  Chinese  was  heightened  by  the  receipt  of  a  letter  con- 
taining the  news  that  the  Mongols  and  Altai  Tartars 
under  the  leadership  of  the  Tartar  officer  Kaigorodoff 
pursued  the  Chinese  who  were  making  off  with  their 
booty  from  the  sack  of  Kobdo  and  overtook  and  annihi- 
lated them  on  the  borders  of  Sinkiang.  Another  part  of 
the  letter  told  how  General  Bakitch  and  the  six  thousand 
men  who  had  been  Interned  with  him  by  the  Chinese 
authorities  on  the  River  Amyl  had  received  arms  and 
started  to  join  with  Ataman  Annenkoff,  who  had  been 
interned  in  Kuldja,  with  the  ultimate  Intention  of  linking 
up  with  Baron  Ungern.  This  rumour  proved  to  be  wrong 
because  neither  Bakitch  nor  Annenkoff  entertained  this 
intention,  because  Annenkoff  had  been  transported  by  the 
Chinese  into  the  Depths  of  Turkestan.  However,  the 
news  produced  veritable  stupefaction  among  the  Chinese. 
Just  at  this  time  there  arrived  at  the  house  of  the 
Bolshevist  Russian  colonist  Bourdukoff  three  Bolshevik 
agents  from  Irkutsk  named  Saltikoff,  Frelmann  and 
Novak,  who  started  an  agitation  among  the  Chinese  au- 
thorities to  get  them  to  disarm  the  Russian  officers  and 
hand  them  over  to  the  Reds.  They  persuaded  the  Chi- 
nese Chamber  of  Commerce  to  petition  the  Irkutsk  Soviet 
to  send  a  detachment  of  Reds  to  Uliassutai  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Chinese  against  the  White  detachments. 
Frelmann  brought  with  him  communistic  pamphlets  in 
Mongolian  and  instructions  to  begin  the  reconstruction 
of  the  telegraph  line  to  Irkutsk.  Bourdukoff  also  received 
some  messages  from  the  Bolsheviki.  This  quartette  de- 
veloped their  policy  very  successfully  and  soon  saw 
Wang  Tsao-tsun  fall  ir»  with  their  schemes.     Once  more 


HARASSING  DAYS  167 

the  days  of  expecting  a  pogrom  in  Uliassutai  returned  to 
us.  The  Russian  officers  anticipated  attempts  to  arrest 
them.  The  representative  of  one  of  the  American  firms 
went  with  me  to  the  Commissioner  for  a  parley.  We 
pointed  out  to  him  the  illegality  of  his  acts,  inasmuch  as 
he  was  not  authorized  by  his  Government  to  treat  with 
the  Bolsheviki  when  the  Soviet  Government  had  not  been 
recognized  by  Peking.  Wang  Tsao-tsun  and  his  advisor 
Fu  Hsiang  were  palpably  confused  at  finding  we  knew 
of  his  secret  meetings  with  the  Bolshevik  agents.  He 
assured  us  that  his  guard  was  sufficient  to  prevent  any 
such  pogrom.  It  was  quite  true  that  his  guard  was  very 
capable,  as  it  consisted  of  well  trained  and  disciplined 
soldiers  under  the  command  of  a  serious-minded  and 
well  educated  officer;  but,  what  could  eighty  soldiers  do 
against  a  mob  of  three  thousand  coolies,  one  thousand 
armed  merchants  and  two  hundred  gamins?  We  strongly 
registered  our  apprehensions  and  urged  him  to  avoid  any 
bloodshed,  pointing  out  that  the  foreign  and  Russian 
population  were  determined  to  defend  themselves  to  the 
last  moment.  Wang  at  once  ordered  the  establishment 
of  strong  guards  on  the  streets  and  thus  made  a  very  in- 
teresting picture  with  all  the  Russian,  foreign  and  Chinese 
patrols  moving  up  and  down  throughout  the  whole  town. 
Then  we  did  not  know  there  were  three  hundred  more 
sentinels  on  duty,  the  men  of  Tushegoun  Lama  hidden 
nearby  in  the  mountains. 

Once  more  the  picture  changed  very  sharply  and  sud- 
denly. The  Mongolian  Sait  received  news  through  the 
Lamas  of  the  nearest  monastery  that  Colonel  Kazagrandi, 
after  fighting  with  the  Chinese  irregulars,  had  captured 
Van   Kure  and   had    formed   there   Russian-Mongolian 


i68  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

brigades  of  cavalry,  mobilizing  the  Mongols  by  the  order 
of  the  Living  Buddha  and  the  Russians  by  order  of  Baron 
Ungem.  A  few  hours  later  it  became  known  that  in  the 
large  monastery  of  Dzain  the  Chinese  soldiers  had  killed 
the  Russian  Captain  Barsky  and  as  a  result  some  of  the 
troops  of  Kazagrandi  attacked  and  swept  the  Chinese  out 
of  the  place.  At  the  taking  of  Van  Kure  the  Russians 
arrested  a  Korean  Communist  who  was  on  his  way  from 
Moscow  with  gold  and  propaganda  to  work  in  Korea  and 
America.  Colonel  Kazagrandi  sent  .this  Korean  with  his 
freight  of  gold  to  Baron  Ungern.  After  receiving  this 
news  the  chief  of  the  Russian  detachment  in  Uliassutai 
arrested  all  the  Bolsheviki  agents  and  passed  judgment 
upon  them  and  upon  the  murderers  of  the  Bobroffs. 
Kanine,  Madame  Pouzikofif  and  Freimann  were  shot. 
Regarding  Saltikoff  and  Novak  some  doubt  sprang  up 
and,  moreover,  Saltikoff  escaped  and  hid,  while  Novak, 
under  advice  from  Lieutenant  Colonel  Michailoff,  left  for 
the  west.  The  chief  of  the  Russian  detachment  gave  out 
orders  for  the  mobilization  of  the  Russian  colonists  and 
openly  took  Uliassutai  under  his  protection  with  the  tacit 
agreement  of  the  Mongolian  authorities.  The  Mongol 
Sait,  Chultun  Beyli,  convened  a  council  of  the  neighbor- 
ing Mongolian  Princes,  the  soul  of  which  was  the  noted 
Mongolian  patriot,  Hun  Jap  Lama.  The  Princes  quickly 
formulated  their  demands  upon  the  Chinese  for  the  com- 
plete evacuation  of  the  territory  subject  to  the  Sait  Chul- 
tun Beyli.  Out  of  it  grew  parleys,  threats  and  friction 
between  the  various  Chinese  and  Mongolian  elements. 
Wang  Tsao-tsun  proposed  his  scheme  of  settlement, 
which  some  of  the  Mongolian  Princes  accepted ;  but  Jap 
Lama  at  the  decisive  moment  threw  the  Chinese  document 


HARASSING  DAYS  169 

to  the  ground,  drew  his  knife  and  swore  that  he  would 
die  by  his  own  hand  rather  than  set  it  as  a  seal  upon  this 
treacherous  agreement.  As  a  result  the  Chinese  pro- 
posals were  rejected  and  the  antagonists  began  to  pre- 
pare themselves  for  the  struggle.  All  the  armed  Mongols 
were  summoned  from  Jassaktu  Khan,  Sain-Noion  Khan 
and  the  dominion  of  Jahantsi  Lama.  The  Chinese  au- 
thorities placed  their  four  machine  guns  and  prepared  to 
defend  the  fortress.  Continuous  deliberations  were  held 
by  both  the  Chinese  and  Mongols.  Finally,  our  old 
acquaintance  Tzeren  came  to  me  as  one  of  the  uncon- 
cerned foreigners  and  handed  to  me  the  joint  requests  of 
Wang  Tsao-tsun  and  Chultun  Beyli  to  try  to  pacify  the 
two  elements  and  to  work  out  a  fair  agreement  between 
them.  Similar  requests  were  handed  to  the  representative 
of  an  American  firm.  The  following  evening  we  held 
the  first  meeting  of  the  arbitrators  and  the  Chinese  and 
Mongolian  representatives.  It  was  passionate  and 
stormy,  so  that  we  foreigners  lost  all  hope  of  the  success 
of  our  mission.  However,  at  midnight  when  the  speakers 
were  tired,  we  secured  agreement  on  two  points:  the 
Mongols  announced  that  they  did  not  want  to  make  war 
and  that  they  desired  to  settle  this  matter  in  such  a  way 
as  to  retain  the  friendship  of  the  great  Chinese  people; 
while  the  Chinese  Commissioner  acknowledged  that  China 
had  violated  the  treaties  by  which  full  independence  had 
been  legally  granted  to  Mongolia. 

These  two  points  formed  for  us  the  groundwork  of 
the  next  meeting  and  gave  us  the  starting  points  for 
urging  reconciliation.  The  deliberations  continued  for 
three  days  and  finally  turned  so  that  we  foreigners  could 
propose  our  suggestions  for  an  agreement.    Its  chief  pro- 


I70  BEAvSTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

visions  were  that  the  Chinese  authorities  should  surrender 
administrative  powers,  return  the  arms  to  the  Mongolians, 
disarm  the  two  hundred  gamins  and  leave  the  country; 
and  that  the  Mongols  on  their  side  should  give  free  and 
honorable  passage  of  their  country  to  the  Commissioner 
with  his  armed  guard  of  eighty  men.  This  Chinese- 
Mongolian  Treaty  of  Uliassutai  was  signed  and  sealed  by 
the  Chinese  Commissioners,  Wang  Tsao-tsun  and  Fu 
Hsiang,  by  both  Mongolian  Salts,  by  Hun  Jap  Lama  and 
other  Princes,  as  well  as  by  the  Russian  and  Chinese 
Presidents  of  the  Chambers  of  Commerce  and  by  us 
foreign  arbitrators.  The  Chinese  officials  and  convoy 
began  at  once  to  pack  up  their  belongings  and  prepare  for 
departure.  The  Chinese  merchants  remained  in  Ulias- 
sutai because  Sait  Chultun  Beyli,  now  having  full  au- 
thority and  power,  guaranteed  their  safety.  The  day  of 
departure  for  the  expedition  of  Wang  Tsao-tsun  arrived. 
The  camels  with  their  packs  already  filled  the  yaynen 
court-yard  and  the  men  only  awaited  the  arrival  of  their 
horses  from  the  plains.  Suddenly  the  news  spread  every- 
where that  the  herd  of  horses  had  been  stolen  during  the 
night  and  run  off  toward  the  south.  Of  two  soldiers  that 
had  been  sent  out  to  follow  the  tracks  of  the  herd  only  one 
came  back  with  the  news  that  the  other  had  been  killed. 
Astonishment  spread  over  the  whole  town  while  among 
the  Chinese  it  turned  to  open  panic.  It  perceptibly  in- 
creased when  some  Mongols  from  a  distant  ourton  to  the 
east  came  in  and  announced  that  in  various  places  along 
the  post  road  to  Urga  they  had  discovered  the  bodies  of 
sixteen  of  the  soldiers  whom  Wang  Tsao-tsun  had  sent 
out  with  letters  for  Urga.  The  mystery  of  these  events 
will  soon  be  explained. 


HARASSING  DAYS  171 

The  chief  of  the  Russian  detachment  received  a  letter 
from  a  Cossack  Colonel,  V.  N.  Domojiroff,  containing 
the  order  to  disarm  immediately  the  Chinese  garrison,  to 
arrest  all  Chinese  officials  for  transport  to  Baron  Ungern 
at  Urga,  to  take  control  of  Uliassutai,  by  force  if  neces- 
sary, and  to  join  forces  with  his  detachment.  At  the  very 
same  time  a  messenger  from  the  Narabanchi  Hutuktu 
galloped  in  with  a  letter  to  the  effect  that  a  Russian  de- 
tachment under  the  leadership  of  Hun  Boldon  and  Colonel 
Domojiroff  from  Urga  had  pillaged  some  Chinese  firms 
and  killed  the  merchants,  had  come  to  the  Monastery  and 
demanded  horses,  food  and  shelter.  The  Hutuktu  asked 
for  help  because  the  ferocious  conqueror  of  Kobdo,  Hun 
Boldon,  could  very  easily  pillage  the  unprotected  isolated 
monastery.  We  strongly  urged  Colonel  Michailoff  not 
to  violate  the  sealed  treaty  and  discountenance  all  the  for- 
eigners and  Russians  who  had  taken  part  in  making  it, 
for  this  would  but  be  to  imitate  the  Bolshevik  principle 
of  making  deceit  the  leading  rule  in  all  acts  of  state.  This 
touched  Michailoff  and  he  answered  Domojiroff  that 
Uliassutai  was  already  in  his  hands  without  a  fight;  that 
over  the  building  of  the  former  Russian  Consulate  the 
tri-color  flag  of  Russia  was  flying;  the  gamins  had  been 
disarmed  but  that  the  other  orders  could  not  be  carried 
out,  because  their  execution  would  violate  the  Chinese- 
Mongolian  treaty  just  signed  in  Uliassutai. 

Daily  several  envoys  traveled  from  Narabanchi 
Hutuktu  to  Uliassutai.  The  news  became  more  and  more 
disquieting.  The  Hutuktu  reported  that  Hun  Boldon 
was  mobilizing  the  Mongolian  beggars  and  horse  stealers, 
arming  and  training  them;  that  the  soldiers  were  taking 
the  sheep  of  the  monastery;  that  the  "Xoyo}!"  Dr.mojiroff 


172  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

was  aiways  drunk;  and  that  the  protests  of  the  Hutuktu 
were  answered  with  jeers  and  scolding.  The  messengers 
gave  very  indefinite  information  regarding  the  strength 
of  the  detachment,  some  placing  it  at  about  thirty  while 
others  stated  that  Domojiroff  said  he  had  eight  hundred 
in  all.  We  could  not  understand  it  at  all  and  soon  the 
messengers  ceased  coming.  All  the  letters  of  the  Sait  re- 
mained unanswered  and  the  envoys  did  not  return.  There 
seemed  to  be  no  doubt  that  the  men  had  been  killed  or 
captured. 

Prince  Chultun  Beyli  determined  to  go  himself.  He 
took  with  him  the  Russian  and  Chinese  Presidents  of  the 
Chambers  of  Commerce  and  two  Mongolian  officers. 
Three  days  elapsed  without  receiving  any  news  from  him 
whatever.  The  Mongols  began  to  get  worried.  Then 
the  Chinese  Commissioner  and  Hun  Jap  Lama  addressed 
a  request  to  the  foreigner  group  to  send  some  one  to 
Narabanchi,  in  order  to  try  to  resolve  the  controversy 
there  and  to  persuade  Domojiroff  to  recognize  the  treaty 
and  not  permit  the  "great  insult  of  violation"  of  a  cove- 
nant between  the  two  great  peoples.  Our  group  asked 
me  once  more  to  accomplish  this  mission  pro  bono  publico. 
I  had  assigned  me  as  interpreter  a  fine  young  Russian 
colonist,  the  nephew  of  the  murdered  Bobroff,  a  splendid 
rider  as  well  as  a  cool,  brave  man.  Lt.-Colonel  Michailoff 
gave  me  one  of  his  officers  to  accompany  me.  Supplied 
with  an  express  tzara  for  the  post  horses  and  guides,  we 
traveled  rapidly  over  the  way  which  was  now  familiar  to 
me  to  find  my  old  friend.  Jelib  Djamsrap  Huktuktu  of 
Narabanchi.  Although  there  was  deep  snow  in  some 
places,  we  made  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  miles  per  day. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
THE  BAND  OF  WHITE  HUNGHUTZES 

WE  arrived  at  Narabanchi  late  at  night  on  the  third 
day  out.  As  we  were  approaching,  we  noticed 
several  riders  who,  as  soon  as  they  had  seen  us,  galloped 
quickly  back  to  the  monastery.  For  some  time  we  looked 
for  the  camp  of  the  Russian  detachment  without  finding 
it.  The  Mongols  led  us  into  the  monastery,  where  the 
Hutuktu  immediately  received  me.  In  his  yurta  sat 
Chultun  Beyli.  There  he  presented  me  with  Jiatyks  and 
said  to  me:  "The  very  God  has  sent  you  here  to  us  in  this 
difficult  moment." 

It  seems  Domojiroff  had  arrested  both  the  Presidents 
of  the  Chambers  of  Commerce  and  had  threatened  to 
shoot  Prince  Chultun.  Both  Domojiroff  and  Ilun  Boldon 
had  no  documents  legalizing  their  activities.  Chultun 
Beyli  was  preparing  to  fight  with  them. 

I  asked  them  to  take  me  to  Domojiroff.  Through  the 
dark  I  saw  four  big  yurtas  and  two  Mongol  sentinels  with 
Russian  rifles.  We  entered  the  Russian  "Noyon's"  tent. 
A  very  strange  picture  was  presented  to  our  eyes.  In  the 
middle  of  the  yurta  the  brazier  was  burning.  In  the  usual 
place  for  the  altar  stood  a  throne,  on  which  the  tall,  thin, 
grey-haired  Colonel  Domojiroff  was  seated.  He  was  only 
in  his  undergarments  and  stockings,  was  evidently  a  little 
drunk  and  was  telling  stories.     Around  the  brazier  lay 

173 


174  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

twelve  young  men  in  various  picturesque  poses.  ]\Ty 
officer  companion  reported  to  Domojiroff  about  the  events 
in  Uliassutai  and  during  the  conversation  I  asked  Domo- 
jiroff where  his  detachment  was  encamped.  He  laughed 
and  answered,  with  a  sweep  of  his  hand :  "This  is  my 
detachment."  I  pointed  out  to  him  that  the  form  of  his 
orders  to  us  in  Uliassutai  had  led  us  to  believe  that  he 
must  have  a  large  company  with  liim.  Then  I  informed 
him  that  Lt.-Colonel  Michailoff  was  preparing  to  cross 
swords  with  the  Bolshevik  force  approaching  Uliassutai. 

"What?"  he  exclaimed  with  fear  and  confusion,  "the 
Reds?" 

We  spent  the  night  in  his  yurta  and,  when  I  was  ready 
to  lie  down,  my  officer  whispered  to  me: 

"Be  sure  to  keep  your  revolver  handy,"  to  which  I 
laughed  and  said : 

"But  we  are  in  the  center  of  a  White  detachment  and 
therefore  in  perfect  safety !" 

"Uh-huh!"  answered  my  officer  and  finished  the  re- 
sponse with  one  eye  closed. 

The  next  day  I  invited  Domojiroff  to  walk  with  me 
over  the  plain,  when  I  talked  very  frankly  with  him  about 
what  had  been  happening.  He  and  Hun  Boldon  had 
received  orders  from  Baron  Ungern  simply  to  get  into 
touch  with  General  Bakitch,  but  instead  they  1)egan  pil- 
laging Chinese  firms  along  the  route  and  he  had  made  up 
his  mind  to  become  a  great  conqueror.  On  the  way  he 
had  run  across  some  of  the  officers  who  deserted  Colonel 
Kazagrandi  and  formed  his  present  band.  I  succeeded  in 
persuading  Domojiroff  to  arrange  matters  peacefully 
with  Chultun  Beyli  and  not  to  violate  the  treaty.  He 
immediately  went  ahead  to  the  monastery.    As  I  returned, 


THE  BAND  OF  WHITE  HUNGHUTZES      175 

I  met  a  tall  Mongol  with  a  ferocious  face,  dressed  in  a 
blue  silk  outercoat — it  was  Hun  Boldon.  He  introduced 
himself  and  spoke  with  me  in  Russian.  I  had  only  time 
to  take  off  my  coat  in  the  tent  of  Domojiroff  when  a 
Mongol  came  running  to  invite  me  to  the  yurta  of  Hun 
Boldon.  The  Prince  lived  just  beside  me  in  a  splendid 
blue  yurta.  Knowing  the  Mongolian  custom,  I  jumped 
into  the  saddle  and  rode  the  ten  paces  to  his  door.  Hun 
Boldon  received  me  with  coldness  and  pride. 

"Who  is  he?"  he  inquired  of  the  interpreter,  pointing 
to  me  with  his  finger, 

I  understood  his  desire  to  offend  me  and  I  answered  in 
the  same  manner,  thrusting  out  my  finger  toward  him  and 
turning  to  the  interpreter  with  the  same  question  in  a 
slightly  more  unpleasant  tone: 

"Who  is  he?  High  Prince  and  warrior  or  shepherd 
and  brute  ?" 

Boldon  at  once  became  confused  and,  with  trembling 
voice  and  agitation  in  his  whole  manner,  blurted  out  to 
me  that  he  would  not  allow  me  to  interfere  in  his  affairs 
and  would  shoot  every  man  who  dared  to  run  counter  to 
his  orders.  He  pounded  on  the  low  table  with  his  fist 
and  then  rose  up  and  drew  his  revolver.  But  I  was  much 
traveled  among  the  nomads  and  had  studied  them  thor- 
oughly— Princes,  Lamas,  shepherds  and  brigands.  I 
grasped  my  whip  and,  striking  it  on  the  table  with  all  my 
strength,  I  said  to  the  interpreter: 

"Tell  him  that  he  has  the  honor  to  speak  with  neither 
Mongol  nor  Russian  but  with  a  foreigner,  a  citizen  of  a 
great  and  free  state.  Tell  him  he  must  first  learn  to  be  a 
man  and  then  he  can  visit  me  and  we  can  talk  together." 

I  turned  and  went  out.    Ten  minutes  later  Hun  Boldon 


176  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

entered  my  yurta  and  offered  his  apologies.  I  persuaded 
him  to  parley  with  Chultun  Beyli  and  not  to  offend  the 
free  Mongol  people  with  his  activities.  That  very  night 
all  was  arranged.  Hun  Boldon  dismissed  his  Mongols 
and  left  for  Kobdo,  while  Domojiroff  with  his  band 
started  for  Jassaktu  Khan  to  arrange  for  the  mobilization 
of  the  Mongols  there.  With  the  consent  of  Chultun  Beyli 
he  wrote  to  Wang  Tsao-tsun  a  demand  to  disarm  his 
guard,  as  all  of  the  Chinese  troops  in  Urga  had  been  so 
treated;  but  this  letter  arrived  after  Wang  had  bought 
camels  to  replace  the  stolen  horses  and  was  on  his  way 
to  the  border.  Later  Lt.-Colonel  Michailoff  sent  a  detach- 
ment of  fifty  men  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant 
Strigine  to  overhaul  Wang  and  receive  their  arms. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

MYSTERY  IN  A  SMALL  TEMPLE 

DRINCE  CHULTUN  BEYLI  and  I  were  ready  to 
**■  leave  the  Narabanchi  Kure.  While  the  Hutuktu  was 
holding  service  for  the  Sait  in  the  Temple  of  Blessing,  I 
wandered  around  through  the  narrow  alleyways  between 
the  walls  of  the  houses  of  the  various  grades  of  Lama 
Gelongs,  Getids,  Chaidje  and  Rabdjampa;  of  schools 
where  the  learned  doctors  of  theology  or  Maramba 
taught  together  with  the  doctors  of  medicine  or  Ta  Lama; 
of  the  residences  for  students  called  Bandi;  of  stores, 
archives  and  libraries.  When  I  returned  to  the  yurta  of 
the  Hutuktu,  he  was  inside.  He  presented  me  with  a 
large  hatyk  and  proposed  a  walk  around  the  monastery. 
His  face  wore  a  preoccupied  expression  from  which  I 
gathered  that  he  had  something  he  wished  to  discuss  with 
mc.  As  we  went  out  of  the  yurta,  the  liberated  President 
of  the  Russian  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  a  Russian 
officer  joined  us.  The  Hutuktu  led  us  to  a  small  building 
just  back  of  a  bright  yellow  stone  wall. 

"In  that  building  once  stopped  the  Dalai  Lama  and 
Bogdo  Khan  and  we  always  paint  the  buildings  yellow 
where  these  holy  persons  have  lived.    Enter !" 

The  interior  of  the  building  was  arranged  with  splen- 
dor. On  the  ground  floor  was  the  dining-room,  furnished 
with  richly  carved,  heavy  blackwood  Chinese  tables  and 

177 


178  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

cabinets  filled  with  porcelains  and  bronze.  Above  were 
two  rooms,  the  first  a  bed-room  hung  with  heavy  yellow 
silk  curtains ;  a  large  Chinese  lantern  richly  set  with  col- 
ored stones  hung  by  a  thin  bronze  chain  from  the  carved 
wooden  ceiling  beam.  Here  stood  a  large  square  bed  cov- 
ered with  silken  pillows,  mattresses  and  blankets.  The 
frame  work  of  the  bed  was  also  of  the  Chinese  blackwood 
and  carried,  especially  on  the  posts  that  held  the  roof-like 
canopy,  finely  executed  carvings  with  the  chief  motive  the 
conventional  dragon  devouring  the  sun.  By  the  side 
stood  a  chest  of  drawers  completely  covered  with  carvings 
setting  forth  religious  pictures.  Four  comfortable  easy 
chairs  completed  the  furniture,  save  for  the  low  oriental 
throne  which  stood  on  a  dais  at  the  end  of  the  room. 

"Do  you  see  this  throne?"  said  the  Hutuktu  to  me. 
"One  night  in  winter  several  horsemen  rode  into  the 
monastery  and  demanded  that  all  the  Gelongs  and  Gctids 
with  the  Hutuktu  and  Kanpo  at  their  head  should  congre- 
gate in  this  room.  Then  one  of  the  strangers  mounted 
the  throne,  where  he  took  off  his  bashlyk  or  cap-like  head 
covering.  All  of  the  Lamas  fell  to  their  knees  as  they 
recognized  the  man  who  had  been  long  ago  described  in 
the  sacred  bulls  of  Dalai  Lama,  Tashi  Lama  and  Bogdo 
Khan.  He  was  the  man  to  whom  the  whole  world  belongs 
and  who  has  penetrated  into  all  the  mysteries  of  Nature. 
He  pronounced  a  short  Tibetan  prayer,  blessed  all  his 
hearers  and  afterwards  made  predictions  for  the  coming 
half  century.  This  was  thirty  years  ago  and  in  the  in- 
terim all  his  prophecies  are  being  fulfilled.  During  his 
prayers  before  that  small  shrine  in  the  next  room  this 
door  opened  of  its  own  accord,  the  candles  and  lights 
before  the  altar  lighted  themselves  and  the  sacred  braziers 


MYSTERY   IN  A  SMALL  TEMPLE  179 

without  coals  gave  forth  great  streams  of  incense  that 
filled  the  room.  And  then,  without  warning,  the  King  of 
the  World  and  his  companions  disappeared  from  among 
us.  Behind  him  remained  no  trace  save  the  folds  in  the 
silken  throne  coverings  which  smoothed  themselves  out 
and  left  the  throne  as  though  no  one  had  sat  upon  it." 

The  Hutuktu  entered  the  shrine,  kneeled  down,  cover- 
ing his  eyes  with  his  hands,  and  began  to  pray.  I  looked 
at  the  calm,  indifferent  face  of  the  golden  Buddha,  over 
which  the  flickering  lamps  threw  changing  shadows,  and 
then  turned  my  eyes  to  the  side  of  the  throne.  It  was 
wonderful  and  difficult  to  believe  but  I  really  saw  there 
the  strong,  muscular  figure  of  a  man  with  a  swarthy  face 
of  stern  and  fixed  expression  about  the  mouth  and  jaws, 
thrown  into  high  relief  by  the  brightness  of  the  eyes. 
Through  his  transparent  body  draped  in  white  raiment  I 
saw  the  Tibetan  inscriptions  on  the  back  of  the  throne. 
I  closed  my  eyes  and  opened  them  again.  No  one  was 
there  but  the  silk  throne  covering  seemed  to  be  moving. 

"Nervousness,"  I  thought.  "Abnormal  and  over- 
emphasized impressionability  growing  out  of  the  unusual 
surroundings  and  strains." 

The  Hutuktu  turned  to  me  and  said:  "Give  me  your 
hatyk.  I  have  the  feeling  that  you  are  troubled  about 
those  whom  you  love,  and  I  want  to  pray  for  them.  And 
you  must  pray  also,  importune  God  and  direct  the  sight 
of  your  soul  to  the  King  of  the  World  who  was  here  and 
sanctified  this  place." 

The  Hutuktu  placed  the  hatyk  on  the  shoulder  of  the 
Buddha  and,  prostrating  himself  on  the  carpet  before 
the  altar,  whispered  the  words  of  prayer.    Then  he  raised 


i8o  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

his  head  and  beckoned  me  to  him  with  a  sHght  movement 
of  his  hand. 

"Look  at  the  dark  space  behind  the  statue  of  Buddha 
and  he  will  show  your  beloved  to  you." 

Readily  obeying  his  deep-voiced  command,  I  began  to 
look  into  the  dark  niche  behind  the  figure  of  the  Buddha. 
Soon  out  of  the  darkness  began  to  appear  streams  of 
smoke  or  transparent  threads.  They  floated  in  the  air, 
becoming  more  and  more  dense  and  increasing  in  number, 
until  gradually  they  formed  the  bodies  of  several  persons 
and  the  outlines  of  various  objects.  I  saw  a  room  that 
was  strange  to  me  with  my  family  there,  surrounded  by 
some  whom  I  knew  and  others  whom  I  did  not.  I  recog- 
nized even  the  dress  my  wife  wore.  Every  line  of  her 
dear  face  was  clearly  visible.  Gradually  the  vision  be- 
came too  dark,  dissipated  itself  into  the  streams  of  smoke 
and  transparent  threads  and  disappeared.  Behind  the 
golden  Buddha  was  nothing  but  the  darkness.  The 
Hutuktu  arose,  took  my  hatyk  from  the  shoulder  of  the 
Buddha  and  handed  it  to  me  with  these  words: 

"Fortune  is  always  with  you  and  with  your  family. 
God's  goodness  will  not  forsake  you." 

We  left  the  building  of  this  unknown  King  of  the 
World,  where  he  had  prayed  for  all  mankind  and  had 
predicted  the  fate  of  peoples  and  states.  I  was  greatly 
astonished  to  find  that  my  companions  had  also  seen  my 
vision  and  to  hear  them  describe  to  me  in  minute  detail  the 
appearance  and  the  clothes  of  the  persons  whom  I  had 
aeen  in  the  dark  niche  behind  the  head  of  Buddha.* 

*  In  order  that  I  might  have  the  evidence  of  others  on  this  extraor- 
dinarily impressive  vision,  I  asked  them  to  make  protocols  or  affi- 
davits concerning  what  they  saw.  This  they  did  and  I  now  have  these 
8tat«m«nts  in  my  possession. 


MYSTERY  IN  A  SMALL  TEMPLE  18 1 

The  Mongol  officer  also  told  me  that  Chultun  Beyli  had 
the  day  before  asked  the  Hutuktu  to  reveal  to  him  his  fate 
in  this  important  juncture  of  his  life  and  in  this  crisis  of 
his  country  but  the  Hutuktu  only  waved  his  hand  in  an 
expression  of  fear  and  refused.  When  I  asked  the 
Hutuktu  for  the  reason  of  his  refusal,  suggesting  to  him 
that  it  might  calm  and  help  Chultun  Beyli  as  the  vision  of 
my  beloved  had  strengthened  me,  the  Hutuktu  knitted  his 
brow  and  answered: 

"No!  The  vision  would  not  please  the  Prince.  His 
fate  is  black.  Yesterday  I  thrice  sought  his  fortune  on 
the  burned  shoulder  blades  and  with  the  entrails  of  sheep 
and  each  time  came  to  the  same  dire  result,  the  same  dire 
result!  .  .  ." 

He  did  not  really  finish  speaking  but  covered  his  face 
with  his  hands  in  fear.  He  was  convinced  that  the  lot  0/ 
Chultun  Beyli  was  black  as  the  night. 

In  an  hour  we  were  behind  the  low  hills  that  hid  thf 
Narabanchi  Kure  from  our  sight. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 
THE  BREATH  OF  DEATH 

WE  arrived  at  Uliassutai  on  the  day  of  the  return  of 
the  detachment  which  had  gone  out  to  disarm  the 
convoy  of  Wang  Tsao-tsun.  This  detachment  had  met 
Colonel  Domojiroff,  who  ordered  them  not  only  to  dis- 
arm but  to  pillage  the  convoy  and,  unfortunately,  Lieu- 
tenant Strigine  executed  this  illegal  and  unwarranted 
command.  It  was  compromising  and  ignominious  to  see 
Russian  officers  and  soldiers  wearing  the  Chinese  over- 
coats, boots  and  wrist  watches  which  had  been  taken  from 
the  Chinese  officials  and  the  convoy.  Everyone  had 
Chinese  silver  and  gold  also  from  the  loot.  The  Mongol 
wife  of  Wang  Tsao-tsun  and  her  brother  returned  with 
the  detachment  and  entered  a  complaint  of  having  been 
robbed  by  the  Russians.  The  Chinese  officials  and  their 
convoy,  deprived  of  their  supplies,  reached  the  Chinese 
border  only  after  great  distress  from  hunger  and  cold. 
We  foreigners  were  astounded  that  Lt.-Colonel  Michailoff 
received  Strigine  with  military  honors  but  we  caught  the 
explanation  of  it  later  when  we  learned  that  Michailoff 
had  been  given  some  of  the  Chinese  silver  and  his  wife 
the  handsomely  decorated  saddle  of  Fu  Hsiang.  Chultun 
Beyli  demanded  that  all  the  weapons  taken  from  the 
Chinese  and  all  the  stolen  property  be  turned  over  to  him, 
as  it  must  later  be  returned  to  the  Chinese  authorities; 

182 


THE  BREATH  OF  DEATH  183 

but  Michailoff  refused.  Afterwards  we  foreigners  cut 
off  all  contact  with  the  Russian  detachment.  The  rela- 
tions between  the  Russians  and  Mongols  became  very 
strained.  Several  of  the  Russian  officers  protested 
against  the  acts  of  Michailoff  and  Strigine  and  contro- 
versies became  more  and  more  serious. 

At  this  time,  one  morning  in  April,  an  extraordinary 
group  of  armed  horsemen  arrived  at  Uliassutai.  They 
stayed  at  the  house  of  the  Bolshevik  Bourdukofif,  who 
gave  them,  so  we  were  told,  a  great  quantity  of  silver. 
This  group  explained  that  they  were  former  officers  in 
the  Imperial  Guard.  They  were  Colonels  Poletika,  N.  N. 
Philipoff  and  three  of  the  latter's  brothers.  They  an- 
nounced that  they  wanted  to  collect  all  the  White  officers 
and  soldiers  then  in  Mongolia  and  China  and  lead  them  to 
Urianhai  to  fight  the  Bolsheviki;  but  that  first  they 
wanted  to  wipe  out  Ungern  and  return  Mongolia  to 
China.  They  called  themselves  the  representatives  of  the 
Central  Organization  of  the  Whites  in  Russia. 

The  society  of  Russian  officers  in  Uliassutai  invited 
them  to  a  meeting,  examined  their  documents  and  inter- 
rogated them.  Investigation  proved  that  all  the  state- 
ments of  these  officers  about  their  former  connections 
were  entirely  wrong,  that  Poletika  occupied  an  important 
position  in  the  war  commissariat  of  the  Bolsheviki,  that 
one  of  the  Philipoff  brothers  was  the  assistant  of 
Kameneff  in  his  first  attempt  to  reach  England,  that  the 
Central  White  Organization  in  Russia  did  not  exist,  that 
the  proposed  fighting  in  Urianhai  was  but  a  trap  for  the 
White  officers  and  that  this  group  was  in  close  relations 
with  the  Bolshevik  Bourdukoff. 

A  discussion  at  once  sprang  up  among  the  officers  as  to 


i84  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

what  they  should  do  with  this  group,  which  split  the  de- 
tachment into  two  distinct  parties.  Lt-Colonel  Michailoff 
with  several  officers  joined  themselves  to  Poletika's  group 
just  zs  Colonel  Domojiroff  arrived  with  his  detachment. 
He  began  to  get  in  touch  with  both  factions  and  to  feel 
out  the  poHtics  of  the  situation,  finally  appointing  Poletika 
to  the  post  of  Commandant  of  Uliassutai  and  sending  to 
Baron  Ungern  a  full  report  of  the  events  in  the  town.  In 
this  document  he  devoted  much  space  to  me,  accusing  me 
of  standing  in  the  way  of  the  execution  of  his  orders. 
His  officers  watched  me  continuously.  From  different 
quarters  I  received  warnings  to  take  great  care.  This 
band  and  its  leader  openly  demanded  to  know  what  right 
this  foreigner  had  to  interfere  in  the  alfairs  of  Mongolia, 
one  of  Domojiroff's  officers  directly  giving  me  the  chal- 
lenge in  a  meeting  in  the  attempt  to  provoke  a  contro- 
versy.   I  quietly  answered  him : 

"And  on  what  basis  do  the  Russian  refugees  interfere, 
they  who  have  rights  neither  at  home  nor  abroad  ?" 

The  officer  made  no  verbal  reply  but  in  his  eyes  burned 
a  definite  answer.  My  huge  friend  who  sat  beside  me 
noticed  this,  strode  over  toward  him  and,  towering  over 
him,  stretched  his  arms  and  hands  as  though  just  waking 
from  sleep  and  remarked:  "I'm  looking  for  a  little  box- 
ing exercise." 

On  one  occasion  Domojiroff's  men  would  have  suc- 
ceeded in  taking  me  if  I  had  not  been  saved  by  the  watch- 
fulness of  our  foreign  group.  I  had  gone  to  the  fortress 
to  negotiate  with  the  Mongol  Salt  for  the  departure  of 
the  foreigners  from  Uliassutai.  Chultun  Beyli  detained 
me  for  a  long  time,  so  that  I  was  forced  to  return  about 
nine  in  the  evening.     My  horse  was  walking      Half  a 


THE  BREATH  OF  DEATH  185 

mile  from  the  town  three  men  sprang  up  out  of  the  ditch 
and  ran  at  me.  I  whipped  up  my  horse  but  noticed  sev- 
eral more  men  coming  out  of  the  other  ditch  as  though 
to  head  me  off.  They,  however,  made  for  the  other  group 
and  captured  them  and  I  heard  the  voice  of  a  foreigner 
calling  me  back.  There  I  found  three  of  Domojiroff's 
officers  surrounded  by  the  Polish  soldiers  and  other  for- 
eigners under  the  leadership  of  my  old  trusted  agronome, 
who  was  occupied  with  tying  the  hands  of  the  officers 
behind  their  backs  so  strongly  that  the  bones  cracked. 
Ending  his  work  and  still  smoking  his  perpetual  pipe,  he 
announced  in  a  serious  and  important  manner:  *T  think 
it  best  to  throw  them  into  the  river." 

Laughing  at  his  seriousness  and  the  fear  of  Domo- 
jiroff's officers,  I  asked  them  why  they  had  started  to 
attack  me.  They  dropped  their  eyes  and  were  silent.  It 
was  an  eloquent  silence  and  we  perfectly  understood  what 
they  had  proposed  to  do.  They  had  revolvers  hidden  in 
their  pockets. 

"Fine!"  I  said.  "All  is  perfectly  clear.  I  shall  release 
you  but  you  must  report  to  your  sender  that  he  will  not 
welcome  you  back  the  next  time.  Your  weapons  I  shall 
hand  to  the  Commandant  of  Uliassutai." 

My  friend,  using  his  former  terrifying  care,  began  to 
untie  them,  repeating  over  and  over:  "And  I  would  have 
fed  you  to  the  fishes  in  the  river!"  Then  we  all  returned 
to  the  town,  leaving  them  to  go  their  way. 

Domojiroff  continued  to  send  envoys  to  Baron  Ungem 
at  Urga  with  requests  for  plenary  powers  and  money  and 
with  reports  about  Michailoff,  Chultun  Beyli,  Poletika, 
Philipoff  and  myself.  With  Asiatic  cunning  he  was  then 
maintaining  good  relations  with  all  those  for  whom  he 


i86  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

was  preparing  death  at  the  hands  of  the  severe  warrior. 
Baron  Ungern,  who  was  receiving  only  one-sided  reports 
about  all  the  happenings  in  Uliassutai.  Our  whole  colony 
was  greatly  agitated.  The  officers  split  into  different  par- 
ties; the  soldiers  collected  in  groups  and  discussed  the 
events  of  the  day,  criticising  their  chiefs,  and  under  the 
influence  of  some  of  Domojiroff's  men  began  making 
such  statements  as: 

"We  have  now  seven  Colonels,  who  all  want  to  be  in 
command  and  are  all  quarreling  among  themselves.  They 
all  ought  to  be  pegged  down  and  given  good  sound  thrash- 
ings. The  one  who  could  take  the  greatest  number  of 
blows  ought  to  be  chosen  as  our  chief." 

It  was  an  ominous  joke  that  proved  the  demoralization 
of  the  Russian  detachment. 

"It  seems,"  my  friend  frequently  observed,  "that  we 
shall  soon  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  a  Council  of  Sol- 
diers here  in  Uliassutai.  God  and  the  Devil !  One  thing 
here  is  very  unfortunate — there  are  no  forests  near  into 
which  good  Christian  men  may  dive  and  get  away  from 
all  these  cursed  Soviets.  It's  bare,  frightfully  bare,  this 
wretched  Mongolia,  with  no  place  for  us  to  hide." 

Really  this  possibility  of  the  Soviet  was  approaching. 
On  one  occasion  the  soldiers  captured  the  arsenal  contain- 
ing the  weapons  surrendered  by  the  Chinese  and  carried 
them  off  to  their  barracks.  Drunkenness,  gambling  and 
fighting  increased.  We  foreigners,  carefully  watching 
events  and  in  fear  of  a  catastrophe,  finally  decided  to  leave 
Uliassutai,  that  caldron  of  passions,  controversies  and 
denunciations.  We  heard  that  the  group  of  Poletika  was 
also  preparing  to  get  out  a  few  days  later.  We  foreigners 
separated  into  two  parties,  one  traveling  by  the  old  cara- 


THE  BREATH  OF  DEATH  187 

van  route  across  the  Gobi  considerably  to  the  south  of 
Urga  to  Kuku-Hoto  or  Kweihuacheng  and  Kalgan,  and 
mine,  consisting  of  my  friend,  two  Polish  soldiers  and 
myself,  heading  for  Urga  via  Zain  Shabi,  where  Colonel 
Kazagrandi  had  asked  me  in  a  recent  letter  to  meet  him. 
Thus  we  left  the  Uliassutai  where  we  had  lived  through 
so  many  exciting  events. 

On  the  sixth  day  after  our  departure  there  arrived  in 
the  town  the  Mongol-Buriat  detachment  under  the  com- 
mand of  the  Buriat  Vandaloff  and  the  Russian  Captain 
Bezrodnoff.  Afterwards  I  met  them  in  Zain  Shabi.  It 
was  a  detachment  sent  out  from  Urga  by  Baron  Ungem 
to  restore  order  in  Uliassutai  and  to  march  on  to  Kobdo. 
On  the  way  from  Zain  Shabi  Bezrodnoff  came  across  the 
group  of  Poletika  and  Michailoff.  He  instituted  a  search 
which  disclosed  suspicious  documents  in  their  baggage 
and  in  that  of  Michailoff  and  his  wife  the  silver  and  other 
possessions  taken  from  the  Chinese.  From  this  group  of 
sixteen  he  sent  N.  N.  Philipoff  to  Baron  Ungem,  released 
three  others  and  shot  the  remaining  twelve.  Thus  ended 
in  Zain  Shabi  the  life  of  one  party  of  Uliassutai  refugees 
and  the  activities  of  the  group  of  Poletika.  In  Uliassutai 
Bezrodnoff  shot  Chultun  Beyli  for  the  violation  of  the 
treaty  with  the  Chinese,  and  also  some  Bolshevist  Russian 
colonists ;  arrested  Domojiroff  and  sent  him  to  Urga;  and 
.  .  .  restored  order.  The  predictions  about  Chultun 
Beyli  were  fulfilled. 

I  knew  of  Domojiroff's  reports  regarding  myself  but  I 
decided,  nevertheless,  to  proceed  to  Urga  and  not  to  swing 
round  it,  as  Poletika  had  started  to  do  when  he  was  acci- 
dentally captured  by  Bezrodnoff.  I  was  accustomed  now 
to  looking  into  the  eyes  of  danger  and  I  set  out  to  meet  the 


1 88  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

terrible  "bloody  Baron."  No  one  can  decide  his  own  fate. 
I  did  not  think  myself  in  the  wrong  and  the  feeling  of  fear 
had  long  since  ceased  to  occupy  a  place  in  my  menage. 
On  the  way  a  Mongol  rider  who  overhauled  us  brought 
the  news  of  the  death  of  our  acquaintances  at  Zain  Shabi. 
He  spent  the  night  with  me  in  the  yurta  at  the  ourton  and 
related  to  me  the  following  legend  of  death. 

"It  was  a  long  time  ago  when  the  Mongolians  ruled 
over  China.  The  Prince  of  Uliassutai,  Beltis  Van,  was 
mad.  He  executed  any  one  he  wished  without  trial  and 
no  one  dared  to  pass  through  his  town.  All  the  other 
Princes  and  rich  Mongols  surrounded  Uliassutai,  where 
Beltis  raged,  cut  off  communication  on  every  road  and 
allowed  none  to  pass  in  or  out.  Famine  developed  in  the 
town.  They  consumed  all  the  oxen,  sheep  and  horses  and 
finally  Beltis  Van  determined  to  make  a  dash  with  his 
soldiers  through  to  the  west  to  the  land  of  one  of  his 
tribes,  the  Olets.  He  and  his  men  all  perished  in  the 
fight.  The  Princes,  following  the  advice  of  the  Hutuktu 
Buyantu,  buried  the  dead  on  the  slopes  of  the  mountains 
surrounding  Uliassutai.  They  buried  them  with  incanta- 
tions and  exorcisings  in  order  that  Death  by  Violence 
might  be  kept  from  a  further  visitation  to  their  land. 
The  tombs  were  covered  with  heavy  stones  and  the 
Hutuktu  predicted  that  the  bad  demon  of  Death  by  Vio- 
lence would  only  leave  the  earth  when  the  blood  of  a  man 
should  be  spilled  upon  the  covering  stone.  Such  a  legend 
lived  among  us.  Now  it  is  fulfilled.  The  Russians  shot 
there  three  Bolsheviki  and  the  Chinese  two  Mongols.  The 
evil  spirit  of  Beltis  Van  broke  loose  from  beneath  the 
heavy  stone  and  now  mows  down  the  people  with  his 
scythe.    The  noble  Chultun  Beyli  has  perished;  the  Rus- 


THE  BREATH  OF  DEATH  189 

sian  Noyon  Michailoff  also  has  fallen;  and  death  has 
flowed  out  from  Uliassutai  all  over  our  boundless  plains. 
Who  shall  be  able  to  stem  it  now?  Who  shall  tie  the 
ferocious  hands  ?  An  evil  time  has  fallen  upon  the  Gods 
and  the  Good  Spirits.  The  Evil  Demons  have  made  war 
upon  the  Good  Spirits.  What  can  man  now  do?  Only 
perish,  only  perish.  .  .  /' 


Part  III 
THE  STRAINING  HEART  OF  ASIA 


Part  III 
THE  STRAINING  HEART  OF  ASIA 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

ON  THE  ROAD  OF  GREAT  CONQUERORS 

^T^  HE  great  conqueror,  Jenghiz  Khan,  the  son  of  sad, 
A  stem,  severe  Mongolia,  according  to  an  old  Mon- 
golian legend  "mounted  to  the  top  of  Karasu  Togol  and 
with  his  eyes  of  an  eagle  looked  to  the  west  and  the  east. 
In  the  west  he  saw  whole  seas  of  human  blood  over  which 
floated  a  bloody  fog  that  blanketed  all  the  horizon.  There 
he  could  not  discern  his  fate.  But  the  gods  ordered  him 
to  proceed  to  the  west,  leading  with  him  all  his  warriors 
and  Mongolian  tribes.  To  the  east  he  saw  wealthy  towns, 
shining  temples,  crowds  of  happy  people,  gardens  and 
fields  of  rich  earth,  all  of  which  pleased  the  great  Mongol. 
He  said  to  his  sons:  'There  in  the  west  I  shall  be  fire  and 
sword,  destroyer,  avenging  Fate ;  in  the  east  I  shall  come 
as  the  merciful,  great  builder,  bringing  happiness  to  the 
people  and  to  the  land.'  " 

Thus  runs  the  legend.  I  found  much  of  truth  in  it.  I 
had  passed  over  much  of  his  road  to  the  west  and  always 
identified  it  by  the  old  tombs  and  the  impertinent  monu- 

193 


194  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

ments  of  stone  to  the  merciless  conqueror.  I  saw  also  a 
part  of  the  eastern  road  of  the  hero,  over  which  he 
traveled  to  China.  Once  when  we  were  making  a  trip  out 
of  Uliassutai  we  stopped  the  night  in  Djirgalantu.  The 
old  host  of  the  ottrton,  knowing  me  from  my  previous 
trip  to  Narabanchi,  welcomed  us  very  kindly  and  regaled 
us  with  stories  during  our  evening  meal.  Among  other 
things  he  led  us  out  of  the  yurta  and  pointed  out  a  moun- 
tain peak  brightly  lighted  by  the  full  moon  and  recounted 
to  us  the  story  of  one  of  the  sons  of  Jenghiz,  afterwards 
Emperor  of  China,  Indo-China  and  Mongolia,  who  had 
been  attracted  by  the  beautiful  scenery  and  grazing  lands 
of  Djirgalantu  and  had  founded  here  a  town.  This  was 
soon  left  without  inhabitants,  for  the  Mongol  is  a  nomad 
who  cannot  live  in  artificial  cities.  The  plain  is  his  house 
and  the  world  his  town.  For  a  time  this  town  witnessed 
battles  between  the  Chinese  and  the  troops  of  Jenghiz 
Khan  but  afterwards  it  was  forgotten.  At  present  there 
remains  only  a  half -ruined  tower,  from  which  in  the  early 
days  the  heavy  rocks  were  hurled  down  upon  the  heads 
of  the  enemy,  and  the  dilapidated  gate  of  Kublai,  the 
grandson  of  Jenghiz  Khan.  Against  the  greenish  sky 
drenched  with  the  rays  of  the  moon  stood  out  the  jagged 
line  of  the  mountains  and  the  black  silhouette  of  the  tower 
with  its  loopholes,  through  which  the  alternate  scudding 
clouds  and  light  flashed. 

When  our  party  left  Uliassutai,  we  traveled  on  lei- 
surely, making  thirty-five  to  fifty  miles  a  day  until  we 
were  within  sixty  miles  of  Zain  Shabi,  where  I  took  leave 
of  the  others  to  go  south  to  this  place  in  order  to  keep  my 
engagement  with  Colonel  Kazagrandi.  The  sun  had  just 
risen  as  my  single  Mongol  guide  and  I  without  any  pack 


ON  THE  ROAD  OF  GREAT  CONQUERORS  195 

animals  began  to  ascend  the  low,  timbered  ridges,  from 
the  top  of  which  I  caught  the  last  glimpses  of  my  com- 
panions disappearing  down  the  valley.  I  had  no  idea  then 
of  the  many  and  almost  fatal  dangers  which  I  should 
have  to  pass  through  during  this  trip  by  myself,  which 
was  destined  to  prove  much  longer  than  I  had  anticipated. 
As  we  were  crossing  a  small  river  with  sandy  shores,  my 
Mongol  guide  told  me  how  the  Mongolians  came  there 
during  the  summer  to  wash  gold,  in  spite  of  the  prohibi- 
tions of  the  Lamas.  The  manner  of  working  the  placer 
was  very  primitive  but  the  results  testified  clearly  to  the 
richness  of  these  sands.  The  Mongol  lies  flat  on  the 
ground,  brushes  the  sand  aside  with  a  feather  and  keeps 
blowing  into  the  little  excavation  so  formed.  From  time 
to  time  he  wets  his  finger  and  picks  up  on  it  a  small  bit 
of  grain  gold  or  a  diminutive  nugget  and  drops  these  into 
a  little  bag  hanging  under  his  chin.  In  such  manner  this 
primitive  dredge  wins  about  a  quarter  of  an  ounce  or  five 
dollars'  worth  of  the  yellow  metal  per  day. 

I  determined  to  make  the  whole  distance  to  Zain  Shabi 
in  a  single  day.  At  the  ourtotis  I  hurried  them  through 
the  catching  and  saddling  of  the  horses  as  fast  as  I  could. 
At  one  of  these  stations  about  twenty-five  miles  from  the 
monastery  the  Mongols  gave  me  a  wild  horse,  a  big, 
strong  white  stallion.  Just  as  I  was  about  to  mount  him 
and  had  already  touched  my  foot  to  the  stirrup,  he  jumped 
and  kicked  me  right  on  the  leg  which  had  been  wounded 
in  the  Ma-chu  fight.  The  leg  soon  began  to  swell  and 
ache.  At  sunset  I  made  out  the  first  Russian  and  Oiinese 
buildings  and  later  the  monastery  at  Zain.  We  dropped 
into  the  valley  of  a  small  stream  which  flowed  along  a 
mountain  on  whose  peak  were  set  white  rocks  forming  the 


196  BEASTS,   AlEN  AND   GODS 

words  of  a  Tibetan  prayer.  At  the  bottom  of  this  moun- 
tain was  a  cemetery  for  the  Lamas,  that  is,  piles  of  bones 
and  a  pack  of  dogs.  At  last  the  monastery  lay  right  below 
us,  a  common  square  surrounded  with  wooden  fences. 
In  the  middle  rose  a  large  temple  quite  different  from  all 
those  of  western  Mongolia,  not  in  the  Chinese  but  in  the 
Tibetan  style  of  architecture,  a  white  building  with  per- 
pendicular walls  and  regular  rows  of  windows  in  black 
frames,  with  a  roof  of  black  tiles  and  with  a  most  unusual 
damp  course  laid  between  the  stone  walls  and  the  roof 
timbers  and  made  of  bundles  of  twigs  from  a  Tibetan  tree 
which  never  rots.  Another  small  quadrangle  lay  a  little  to 
the  east  and  contained  Russian  buildings  connected  with 
the  monastery  by  telephone. 

"That  is  the  house  of  the  Living  God  of  Zain,"  the 
Mongol  explained,  pointing  to  this  smaller  quadrangle. 
*'He  likes  Russian  customs  and  manners." 

To  the  north  on  a  conical-shaped  hill  rose  a  tower  that 
recalled  the  Babylonian  sikkiirat.  It  was  the  temple  where 
the  ancient  books  and  manuscripts  were  kept  and  the 
broken  ornaments  and  objects  used  in  the  religious  cere- 
monies together  with  the  robes  of  deceased  Hutuktus  pre- 
served. A  sheer  cliff  rose  behind  this  museum,  which  it 
was  impossible  for  one  to  climb.  On  the  face  of  this  were 
carved  images  of  the  Lamaite  gods,  scattered  about  with- 
out any  special  order.  They  were  from  one  to  two  and  a 
half  metres  high.  At  night  the  monks  lighted  lamps 
before  them,  so  that  one  could  see  these  images  of  the 
gods  and  goddesses  from  far  away. 

We  entered  the  trading  settlement.  The  streets  were 
deserted  and  from  the  windows  only  women  and  children 
looked  out.     I  stopped  with  a  Russian  firm  whose  other 


ON  THE  ROAD  OF  GREAT  CONQUERORS  197 

branches  I  had  known  throughout  the  country.  Much  to 
my  astonishment  they  welcomed  me  as  an  acquaintance. 
It  appeared  that  the  Hutuktu  of  Narabanchi  had  sent 
word  to  all  the  monasteries  that,  whenever  I  should  come, 
they  must  all  render  me  aid,  inasmuch  as  I  had  saved  the 
Narabanchi  Monastery  and,  by  the  clear  signs  of  the 
divinations,  I  was  an  incarnate  Buddha  beloved  of  the 
Gods.  This  letter  of  this  kindly  disposed  Hutuktu  helped 
me  very  much — perhaps  I  should  even  say  more,  that  it 
saved  me  from  death.  The  hospitality  of  my  hosts 
proved  of  great  and  much  needed  assistance  to  me  because 
my  injured  leg  had  swelled  and  was  aching  severely. 
When  I  took  off  my  boot,  I  found  my  foot  all  covered 
with  blood  and  my  old  wound  re-opened  by  the  blow. 
A  felchcr  was  called  to  assist  me  with  treatment  and 
bandaging,  so  that  I  was  able  to  walk  again  three  days 
later. 

I  did  not  find  Colonel  Kazagrandi  at  Zain  Shabi.  After 
destroying  the  Chinese  gamins  who  had  killed  the  local 
Commandant,  he  had  returned  via  Van  Kurc.  The  new 
Commandment  handed  me  the  letter  of  Kazagrandi,  who 
very  cordially  asked  me  to  visit  him  after  I  had  rested  in 
Zain.  A  Mongolian  document  was  enclosed  in  the  letter 
giving  me  the  right  to  receive  horses  and  carts  from  herd 
to  herd  by  means  of  the  "urga,"  which  I  shall  later  de- 
scribe and  which  opened  for  me  an  entirely  new  vista  of 
Mongolian  life  and  country  that  I  should  otherwise  never 
have  seen.  The  making  of  this  journey  of  over  two  hun- 
dred miles  was  a  ver^'  disagreeable  task  for  me:  but  evi- 
dently Kazagrandi,  whom  I  had  never  met,  had  serious 
reasons  for  wishing  this  meeting. 

At  one  o'clock  the  day  after  my  arrival  I  was  visited  by 


198  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

the  local  "Very  God,"  Gheghen  Pandita  Hutuktu.  A 
more  strange  and  extraordinary  a|)pearance  of  a  god  I 
could  not  imagine.  He  was  a  short,  thin  young  man  of 
twenty  or  twenty-two  years  with  quick,  nervous  move- 
ments and  with  an  expressive  face  lighted  and  dominated, 
like  the  countenances  of  all  the  Mongol  gods,  by  large, 
frightened  eyes.  He  was  dressed  in  a  blue  silk  Russian 
uniform  with  yellow  epaulets  with  the  sacred  sign  of 
Pandita  Hutuktu,  in  blue  silk  trousers  and  high  boots,  all 
surmounted  by  a  white  Astrakhan  cap  with  a  yellow 
pointed  top.  At  his  girdle  a  revolver  and  sword  were 
slung.  I  did  not  know  quite  what  to  think  of  this  dis- 
guised god.  He  took  a  cup  of  tea  from  the  host  and 
began  to  talk  with  a  mixture  of  Mongolian  and  Russian. 
"Not  far  from  my  Kure  is  located  the  ancient  mon- 
astery of  Erdeni  Dzu,  erected  on  the  site  of  the  ruins  of 
Karakorum,  the  ancient  capital  of  Jenghiz  Khan  and 
afterwards  frequently  visited  by  Kublai  Kahn  for  sanc- 
tuary and  rest  after  his  labors  as  Emperor  of  China, 
India,  Persia,  Afghanistan,  Mongolia  and  half  of  Europe. 
Now  only  ruins  and  tombs  remain  to  mark  this  former 
'Garden  of  Beatific  Days.'  The  pious  monks  of  Baroun 
Kure  found  in  the  underground  chambers  of  the  ruins 
manuscripts  that  were  much  older  than  Erdeni  Dzu  itself. 
In  these  my  Maramba  Meetchik-Atak  found  the  predic- 
tion that  the  Hutuktu  of  Zain  who  should  carry  the  title 
of  'Pandita,'  should  be  but  twenty-one  years  of  age,  be 
born  in  the  heart  of  the  lands  of  Jenghiz  Khan  and  have 
on  his  chest  the  natural  sign  of  the  swastika — such 
Hutuktu  would  be  honored  by  the  people  in  the  days  of 
a  great  war  and  trouble,  would  begin  the  fight  with  the 
servants  of  Red  evil  and  would  conquer  them  and  bring 


ON  THE  ROAD  OF  GREAT  CONQUERORS  199 

order  into  the  universe,  celebrating  this  happy  day  in  the 
city  with  white  temples  and  with  the  songs  of  ten  thousand 
bells.  It  is  I,  Pandita  Hutuktu !  The  signs  and  symbols 
have  met  in  me.  I  shall  destroy  the  Bolsheviki,  the  bad 
'servants  of  the  Red  evil,'  and  in  Moscow  I  shall  rest  from 
my  glorious  and  great  work.  Therefore  I  have  asked 
Colonel  Kazagrandi  to  enlist  me  in  the  troops  of  Baron 
Ungern  and  give  me  the  chance  to  fight.  The  Lamas  seek 
to  prevent  me  from  going  but  who  is  the  god  here  ?" 

He  very  sternly  stamped  his  foot,  while  the  Lamas  and 
guard  who  accompanied  him  reverently  bowed  their 
heads. 

As  he  left  he  presented  me  with  a  hatyk  and,  rummag- 
ing through  my  saddle  bags,  I  found  a  single  article  that 
might  be  considered  worthy  as  a  gift  for  a  Hutuktu,  a 
small  bottle  of  osmiridium,  this  rare,  natural  concomitant 
of  platinum. 

"This  is  the  most  stable  and  hardest  of  metals,"  I  said. 
"Let  it  be  the  sign  of  your  glory  and  strength,  Hutuktu !" 

The  Pandita  thanked  me  and  invited  me  to  visit  him. 
When  I  had  recovered  a  little,  I  went  to  his  house,  which 
was  arranged  in  European  style:  electric  lights,  push  bells 
and  telephone.  He  feasted  me  with  wine  and  sweets  and 
introduced  me  to  two  very  interesting  personages,  one  an 
old  Tibetan  surgeon  with  a  face  deeply  pitted  by  smallpox, 
a  heavy  thick  nose  and  crossed  eyes.  He  was  a  peculiar 
surgeon,  consecrated  in  Tibet.  His  duties  consisted  in 
treating  and  curing  Hutuktus  when  they  were  ill  and  .  .  . 
in  poisoning  them  when  they  became  too  independent  or 
extravagant  or  when  their  policies  were  not  in  accord 
with  the  wishes  of  the  Council  of  Lamas  of  ilie  Living 
Buddha  or  the  Dalai  Lama.     By  now  Pandita  Hutuktu 


200  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

probably  rests  in  eternal  peace  on  the  top  of  some  sacred 
mountain,  sent  thither  by  the  solicitude  of  his  extraor- 
dinary court  physician.  The  martial  spirit  of  Pandita 
Hutuktu  was  very  unwelcome  to  the  Council  of  Lamas, 
who  protested  against  the  adventuresomeness  of  this 
"Living  God." 

Pandita  liked  wine  and  cards.  One  day  when  he  was 
in  the  company  of  Russians  and  dressed  in  a  European 
suit,  some  Lamas  came  running  to  announce  that  divine 
service  had  begun  and  that  the  "Living  God"  must  take 
his  place  on  the  altar  to  be  prayed  to  but  he  had  gone  out 
from  his  abode  and  was  playing  cards !  Without  any  con- 
fusion Pandita  drew  his  red  mantle  of  the  Hutuktu  over 
his  European  coat  and  long  grey  trousers  and  allowed  the 
shocked  Lamas  to  carry  their  "God"  away  in  his  palan- 
quin. 

Besides  the  surgeon-poisoner  I  met  at  the  Hutuktu' s  a 
lad  of  thirteen  years,  whose  youthfulness,  red  robe  and 
cropped  hair  led  me  to  suppose  he  was  a  Bandi  or  student 
servant  in  the  home  of  the  Hutuktu;  but  it  turned  out 
otherwise.  This  boy  was  the  first  Hiihilgan,  also  an  in- 
carnate Buddha,  an  artful  teller  of  fortunes  and  the  suc- 
cessor of  Pandita  Hutuktu.  He  was  drunk  all  the  time 
and  a  great  card  player,  always  making  side-splitting 
jokes  that  greatly  offended  the  Lamas. 

That  same  evening  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  sec- 
ond Hiihilgan  who  called  on  me,  the  real  administrator 
of  Zain  Shabi,  which  is  an  independent  dominion  subject 
directly  to  the  Living  Buddha.  This  Hiihilgan  was  a 
serious  and  ascetic  man  of  thirty-two,  well  educated  and 
deeply  learned  in  Mongol  lore.  He  knew  Russian  and 
read  much  in  that  language,  being  interested  chiefly  in  the 


ON  THE  ROAD  OF  GREAT  CONQUERORS  201 

life  and  stories  of  other  peoples.  He  had  a  high  respect 
for  the  creative  genius  of  the  American  people  and  said  to 
me: 

"When  you  go  to  America,  ask  the  Americans  to  come 
to  us  and  lead  us  out  from  the  darkness  that  surrounds  us. 
The  Chinese  and  Russians  will  lead  us  to  destruction  and 
only  the  Americans  can  save  us." 

It  is  a  deep  satisfaction  for  me  to  carry  out  the  request 
of  this  influential  Mongol,  Hitbilgan,  and  to  urge  his 
appeal  to  the  American  people.  Will  you  not  save  this 
honest,  uncorrupted  but  dark,  deceived  and  oppressed 
people?  They  should  not  be  allowed  to  perish,  for  within 
their  souls  they  carry  a  great  store  of  strong  moral 
forces.  Make  of  them  a  cultured  people,  believing  in  the 
verity  of  humankind;  teach  them  to  use  the  wealth  of 
their  land;  and  the  ancient  people  of  Jenghiz  Khan  will 
ever  be  your  faithful  friends. 

When  I  had  sufficiently  recovered,  the  Hutuktu  invited 
me  to  travel  with  him  to  Erdeni  Dzu,  to  which  I  willingly 
agreed.  On  the  following  morning  a  light  and  comfort- 
able carriage  was  brought  for  me.  Our  trip  lasted  five 
days,  during  which  we  visited  Erdeni  Dzu,  Karakorum, 
Hoto-Zaidam  and  Hara-Balgasun.  All  these  are  the 
ruins  of  monasteries  and  cities  erected  by  Jenghiz  Khan 
and  his  successors,  Ugadai  Khan  and  Kublai  in  the  thir- 
teenth century.  Now  only  the  remnants  of  walls  and 
towers  remain,  some  large  tombs  and  whole  books  of 
legends  and  stories. 

"Look  at  these  tombs!"  said  the  Hutuktu  to  me. 
"Here  the  son  of  Khan  Uyuk  was  buried.  This  young 
prince  was  bribed  by  the  Chinese  to  kill  his  father  but 
was  frustrated  in  his  attempt  by  his  own  sister,  who  killed 


202  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

him  in  her  watchful  care  of  her  old  father,  the  Emperor 
and  Khan.  There  is  the  tomb  of  Tsinilla,  the  beloved 
spouse  of  Khan  Mangu.  She  left  the  capital  of  China  to 
go  to  Khara  Bolgasun,  where  she  fell  in  love  with  the 
brave  shepherd  Damcharen,  who  overtook  the  wind  on 
his  steed  and  who  captured  wild  yaks  and  horses  with  his 
bare  hands.  The  enraged  Khan  ordered  his  unfaithful 
wife  strangled  but  afterwards  buried  her  with  imperial 
honors  and  frequently  came  to  her  tomb  to  weep  for  his 
lost  love." 

"And  what  happened  to  Damcharen  ?"  I  inquired. 

The  Hutuktu  himself  did  not  know ;  but  his  old  servant, 
the  real  archive  of  legends,  answered: 

"With  the  aid  of  ferocious  Chahar  brigands  he  fought 
with  Qiina  for  a  long  time.  It  is,  however,  unknown  how 
he  died." 

Among  the  ruins  the  monks  pray  at  certain  fixed  times 
and  they  also  search  for  sacred  books  and  objects  con- 
cealed or  buried  in  the  debris.  Recently  they  found  here 
two  Chinese  rifles  and  two  gold  rings  and  big  bundles  of 
old  manuscripts  tied  with  leather  thongs. 

"Why  did  this  region  attract  the  powerful  emperors 
and  Khans  who  ruled  from  the  Pacific  to  the  Adriatic?" 
I  asked  myself.  Certainly  not  these  mountains  and  val- 
leys covered  with  larch  and  birch,  not  these  vast  sands, 
receding  lakes  and  barren  rocks.  It  seems  that  I  found 
the  answer. 

The  great  emperors,  remembering  the  vision  of  Jenghiz 
Khan,  sought  here  new  revelations  and  predictions  of  his 
miraculous,  majestic  destiny,  surrounded  by  the  divine 
honors,  obeisance  and  hate.  Where  could  they  come  into 
touch  with  the  gods,  the  good  and  bad  spirits?     Only 


ON  THE  ROAD  OF  GREAT  CONQUERORS  203 

there  where  they  abode.  All  the  district  of  Zain  with 
these  ancient  ruins  is  just  such  a  place. 

"On  this  mountain  only  such  men  can  ascend  as  are 
born  of  the  direct  line  of  Jenghiz  Khan,"  the  Pandita 
explained  to  me.  "Half  way  up  the  ordinary  man  suf- 
focates and  dies,  if  he  ventures  to  go  further.  Recently 
Mongolian  hunters  chased  a  pack  of  wolves  up  this  moun- 
tain and,  when  they  came  to  this  part  of  the  mountainside, 
they  all  perished.  There  on  the  slopes  of  the  mountain  lie 
the  bones  of  eagles,  big  horned  sheep  and  the  kabarga 
antelope,  light  and  swift  as  the  wind.  There  dwells  the 
bad  demon  who  possesses  the  book  of  human  destinies," 

"This  is  the  answer,"  I  thought. 

In  the  Western  Caucasus  I  once  saw  a  mountain  be- 
tween Soukhoum  Kale  and  Tuopsei  where  wolves,  eagles 
and  wild  goats  also  perish,  and  where  men  would  likewise 
perish  if  they  did  not  go  on  horseback  through  this  zone. 
There  the  earth  breathes  out  carbonic  acid  gas  through 
holes  in  the  mountainside,  killing  all  animal  life.  The  gas 
clings  to  the  earth  in  a  layer  about  half  a  metre  thick. 
Men  on  horseback  pass  above  this  and  the  horses  always 
hold  their  heads  way  up  and  snuff  and  whinny  in  fear 
until  they  cross  the  dangerous  zone.  Here  on  the  top  of 
this  mountain  where  tlie  bad  demon  peruses  the  book  of 
human  destinies  is  the  same  phenomenon,  and  I  realized 
the  sacred  fear  of  the  Mongols  as  well  as  the  stern  attrac- 
tion of  this  place  for  the  tall,  almost  gigantic  descendants 
of  Jenghiz  Khan.  Their  heads  tower  above  the  layers 
of  poisonous  gas,  so  that  they  can  reach  the  top  of  this 
mysterious  and  terrible  mountain.  Also  it  is  possible  to 
explain  this  phenomenon  geologically,  because  here  in  this 


204  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

region  is  the  southern  edge  of  the  coal  deposits  which  are 
the  source  of  carbonic  acid  and  swamp  gases. 

Not  far  from  the  ruins  in  the  lands  of  Hun  Doptchin 
Djamtso  there  is  a  small  lake  which  sometimes  burns  with 
a  red  flame,  terrifying  the  Mongols  and  herds  of  horses. 
Naturally  this  lake  is  rich  with  legends.  Here  a  meteor 
formerly  fell  and  sank  far  into  the  earth.  In  the  hole  this 
lake  appeared.  Now,  it  seems,  the  inhabitants  of  the  sub- 
terranean passages,  semi-man  and  semi-demon,  are  labor- 
ing to  extract  this  "stone  of  the  sky"  from  its  deep  bed 
and  it  is  setting  the  water  on  fire  as  it  rises  and  falls  back 
in  spite  of  their  every  effort.  I  did  not  see  the  lake  myself 
but  a  Russian  colonist  told  me  that  it  may  be  petroleum 
on  the  lake  that  is  fired  either  from  the  campfires  of  the 
shepherds  or  by  the  blazing  rays  of  the  sun. 

At  any  rate  all  this  makes  it  very  easy  to  understand  the 
attractions  for  the  great  Mongol  potentates.  The  strong- 
est impression  was  produced  upon  me  by  Karakorum,  the 
place  where  the  cruel  and  wise  Jenghiz  Khan  lived  and 
laid  his  gigantic  plans  for  overrunning  all  the  west  with 
blood  and  for  covering  the  east  with  a  glory  never  before 
seen.  Two  Karakorums  were  erected  by  Jenghiz  Khan, 
one  here  near  Tatsa  Gol  on  the  Caravan  Road  and  the 
other  in  Pamir,  where  the  sad  warriors  buried  the  greatest 
of  human  conquerors  in  the  mausoleum  built  by  five  hun- 
dred captives  who  were  sacrificed  to  the  spirit  of  the  de- 
ceased when  their  work  was  done. 

The  warlike  Pandita  Hutuktu  prayed  on  the  ruins 
where  the  shades  of  these  potentates  who  had  ruled  half 
the  world  wandered,  and  his  soul  longed  for  the  chimer- 
ical exploits  and  for  the  glory  of  Jenghiz  and  Tamerlane. 

On  the  return  journey  we  were  invited  not  far  from 


ON  THE  ROAD  OF  GREAT  CONQUERORS  205 

Zain  to  visit  a  very  rich  Mongol  by  the  way.  He  had 
already  prepared  the  yurtas  suitable  for  Princes,  orna- 
mented with  rich  carpets  and  silk  draperies.  The  Hutuktu 
accepted.  We  arranged  ourselves  on  the  soft  pillows  in 
the  yurtas  as  the  Hutuktu  blessed  the  Mongol,  touching 
his  head  with  his  holy  hand,  and  received  the  hatyks. 
The  host  then  had  a  whole  sheep  brought  in  to  us,  boiled 
in  a  huge  vessel.  The  Hutuktu  carved  off  one  hind  leg 
and  offered  it  to  me,  while  he  reserved  the  other  for  him- 
self. After  this  he  gave  a  large  piece  of  meat  to  the 
smallest  son  of  the  host,  which  was  the  sign  that  Pandita 
Hutuktu  invited  all  to  begin  the  feast.  In  a  trice  the 
sheep  was  entirely  carved  or  torn  up  and  in  the  hands  of 
the  banqueters.  When  the  Hutuktu  had  thrown  down  by 
the  brazier  the  white  bones  without  a  trace  of  meat  left 
on  them,  the  host  on  his  knees  withdrew  from  the  fire  a 
piece  of  sheepskin  and  ceremoniously  offered  it  on  both 
his  hands  to  the  Hutuktu.  Pandita  began  to  clean  off  the 
wool  and  ashes  with  his  knife  and,  cutting  it  into  thin 
strips,  fell  to  eating  this  really  tasty  course.  It  is  the  cov- 
ering from  just  above  the  breast  bone  and  is  called  in  Mon- 
golian tarach  or  "arrow."  When  a  sheep  is  skinned,  this 
small  section  is  cut  out  and  placed  on  the  hot  coals,  where 
it  is  broiled  very  slowly.  Thus  prepared  it  is  considered 
the  most  dainty  bit  of  the  whole  animal  and  is  always  pre- 
sented to  the  guest  of  honor.  It  is  not  permissible  to 
divide  it,  such  is  the  strength  of  the  custom  and  ceremony. 
After  dinner  our  host  proposed  a  hunt  for  bighorns, 
a  large  herd  of  which  was  known  to  graze  in  the  moun- 
tains within  less  than  a  mile  from  the  yii-rtas.  Horses 
with  rich  saddles  and  bridles  were  led  up.  All  the  elab- 
orate harness  of  the  Hutuktu's  mount  was  ornamented 


2o6  BEASTS,    MEN  AND  GODS 

with  red  and  yellow  bits  of  cloth  as  a  mark  of  his  rank. 
About  fifty  Mongol  riders  galloped  behind  us.  When  we 
left  our  horses,  we  were  placed  behind  the  rocks  roughly 
three  hundred  paces  apart  and  the  Mongols  began  the 
encircling  movement  around  the  mountain.  After  about 
half  an  hour  I  noticed  way  up  among  the  rocks  something 
flash  and  soon  made  out  a  fine  bighorn  jumping  with  tre- 
mendous springs  from  rock  to  rock,  and  behind  him  a 
herd  of  some  twenty  odd  head  leaping  like  lightning  over 
the  ground.  I  was  vexed  beyond  words  when  it  appeared 
that  the  Mongols  had  made  a  mess  of  it  and  pushed  the 
herd  out  to  the  side  before  having  completed  their  circle. 
But  happily  I  was  mistaken.  Behind  a  rock  right  ahead 
of  the  herd  a  Mongol  sprang  up  and  waved  his  hands. 
Only  the  big  leader  was  not  frightened  and  kept  right  on 
past  the  unarmed  Mongol  while  all  the  rest  of  the  herd 
swung  suddenly  round  and  rushed  right  down  upon  me. 
I  opened  fire  and  dropped  two  of  them.  The  Hutuktu 
also  brought  down  one  as  well  as  a  musk  antelope  that 
came  unexpectedly  from  behind  a  rock  hard  by.  The 
largest  pair  of  horns  weighed  about  thirty  pounds,  but 
they  were  from  a  young  sheep. 

The  day  following  our  return  to  Zain  Shabi,  as  I  was 
feeling  quite  recovered,  I  decided  to  go  on  to  Van  Kure. 
At  my  leave-taking  from  the  Hutuktu  I  received  a  large 
hatyk  from  him  together  with  warmest  expressions  of 
thanks  for  the  present  I  had  given  him  on  the  first  day  of 
our  acquaintance. 

*Tt  is  a  fine  medicine!"  he  exclaimed.  "After  our  trip 
I  felt  quite  exhausted  but  I  took  your  medicine  and  am 
now  quite  rejuvenated.     Many,  many  thanks!" 

The  poor  chap  had  swallowed  my  osmiridium.     To  be 


ON  THE  ROAD  OF  GREAT  CONQUERORS  207 

sure  it  could  not  harm  him ;  but  to  have  helped  him  was 
wonderful.  Perhaps  doctors  in  the  Occident  may  wish 
to  try  this  new,  harmless  and  very  cheap  remedy — only 
eight  pounds  of  it  in  the  whole  world — and  I  merely  ask 
that  they  leave  me  the  patent  rights  for  it  for  Mongolia, 
Barga,  Sinkiang,  Koko  Nor  and  all  the  other  lands  of 
Central  Asia. 

An  old  Russian  colonist  went  as  guide  for  me.  They 
gave  me  a  big  but  light  and  comfortable  cart  hitched  and 
drawn  in  a  marvelous  way.  A  straight  pole  four  metres 
long  was  fastened  athwart  the  front  of  the  shafts.  On 
either  side  two  riders  took  this  pole  across  their  saddle 
pommels  and  galloped  away  with  me  across  the  plains. 
Behind  us  galloped  four  other  riders  with  four  extra 
horses. 


CHAPTER  XXX 
ARRESTED ! 

ABOUT  twelve  miles  from  Zain  we  saw  from  a  ridge 
a  snakelike  line  of  riders  crossing  the  valley,  which 
detachment  we  met  half  an  hour  later  on  the  shore  of  a 
deep,  swampy  stream.  The  group  consisted  of  Mongols, 
Buriats  and  Tibetans  armed  with  Russian  rifles.  At  the 
head  of  the  column  were  two  men,  one  of  whom  in  a  huge 
black  Astrakhan  and  black  felt  cape  with  red  Caucasian 
cowl  on  his  shoulders  blocked  my  road  and,  in  a  coarse, 
harsh  voice,  demanded  of  me :  "Who  are  you,  where  are 
you  from  and  where  are  you  going?" 

I  gave  also  a  laconic  answer.  They  then  said  that  they 
were  a  detachment  of  troops  from  Baron  Ungern  under 
the  command  of  Captain  Vandaloff.  'T  am  Captain  Bez- 
rodnoff,  military  judge." 

Suddenly  he  laughed  loudly.  His  insolent,  stupid  face 
did  not  please  me  and,  bowing  to  the  officers,  I  ordered 
my  riders  to  move. 

"Oh  no!"  he  remonstrated,  as  he  blocked  the  road 
again.  "I  cannot  allow  you  to  go  farther.  I  want  to  have 
a  long  and  serious  conversation  with  you  and  you  will 
have  to  come  back  to  Zain  for  it." 

I  protested  and  called  attention  to  the  letter  of  Colonel 
Kazagrandi,  only  to  hear  Bezrodnoff  answer  with  cold- 
ness: 

208 


ARRESTED!  209 

"This  letter  is  a  matter  of  Colonel  Kazagrandi's  and  to 
bring  you  back  to  Zain  and  talk  with  you  is  my  affair. 
Now  give  me  your  weapon." 

But  I  could  not  yield  to  this  demand,  even  though 
death  were  threatened. 

"Listen,"  I  said.  "Tell  me  frankly.  Is  yours  really  a 
detachment  fighting  against  the  Bolsheviki  or  is  it  a  Red 
contingent?" 

"No,  I  assure  you!"  replied  the  Buriat  officer  Van- 
daloff,  approaching  me.  "We  have  already  been  fighting 
the  Bolsheviki  for  three  years." 

"Then  I  cannot  hand  you  my  weapon,"  I  calmly  replied. 
**I  brought  it  from  Soviet  Siberia,  have  had  many  fights 
with  this  faithful  weapon  and  now  I  am  to  be  disarmed  by 
White  officers!    It  is  an  offence  that  I  cannot  allow." 

With  these  words  I  threw  my  rifle  and  my  Mauser  into 
the  stream.  The  officers  were  confused.  Bezrodnoff 
turned  red  with  anger. 

"I  freed  you  and  myself  from  humiliation,"  I  ex- 
plained. 

Bezrodnoff  in  silence  turned  his  horse,  the  whole  de- 
tachment of  three  hundred  men  passed  immediately 
before  me  and  only  the  last  two  riders  stopped,  ordered 
my  Mongols  to  turn  my  cart  round  and  then  fell  in 
behind  my  little  group.  So  I  was  arrested !  One  of  the 
horsemen  behind  me  was  a  Russian  and  he  told  me  that 
Bezrodnoff  carried  with  him  many  death  decrees.  I  was 
sure  that  mine  was  among  them. 

Stupid,  very  stupid !  What  was  the  use  of  fighting 
one's  way  through  Red  detachments,  of  being  frozen  and 
hungry,  of  almost  perishing  in  Tibet  only  to  die  from  a 
bullet  of  one  of  Bezrodnoff 's  Mongols?    For  such  a  pleas- 


2IO  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

ure  It  was  not  worth  while  to  travel  so  long  and  so  far! 
In  every  Siberian  "Cheka"  I  could  have  had  this  end  so 
joyfully  accorded  me. 

When  we  arrived  at  Zain  Shabi,  my  luggage  was  exam- 
ined and  Bezrodnoff  began  to  question  me  in  minutest 
detail  about  the  events  in  Uliassutai.  We  talked  about 
three  hours,  during  which  I  tried  to  defend  all  the  officers 
of  Uliassutai,  maintaining  that  one  must  not  trust  only 
the  reports  of  Domojiroff.  When  our  conversation  was 
finished,  the  Captain  stood  up  and  offered  his  apologies 
for  detaining  me  in  my  journey.  Afterwards  he  pre- 
sented me  a  fine  Mauser  with  silver  mountings  on  the 
handle  and  said: 

"Your  pride  greatly  pleased  me.  I  beg  you  to  receive 
this  weapon  as  a  memento  of  me." 

The  following  morning  I  set  out  anew  from  Zain 
Shabi,  having  in  my  pocket  the  laissez-passer  of  Bezrod- 
nofif  for  his  outposts. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 
TRAVELING  BY  "URGA" 

ONCE  more  we  traveled  along  the  now  known  places, 
the  mountain  from  which  I  espied  the  detachment  of 
Bezrodnoff,  the  stream  into  which  I  had  thrown  my 
weapon,  and  soon  all  this  lay  behind  us.  At  the  first 
ourton  we  were  disappointed  because  we  did  not  find 
horses  there.  In  the  yurtas  were  only  the  host  with  two 
of  his  sons.  I  showed  him  my  document  and  he  ex- 
claimed : 

"Noyon  has  the  right  of  'urga.'  Horses  will  be  brought 
very  soon." 

He  jumped  into  his  saddle,  took  two  of  my  Mongols 
with  him,  providing  them  and  himself  with  long  thin 
poles,  four  or  five  metres  in  length,  and  fitted  at  the  end 
with  a  loop  of  rope,  and  galloped  away.  My  cart  moved 
behind  them.  We  left  the  road,  crossed  the  plain  for  an 
hour  and  came  upon  a  big  herd  of  horses  grazing  there. 
The  Mongol  began  to  catch  a  quota  of  them  for  us  with 
his  pole  and  noose  or  urga,  when  out  of  the  mountains 
nearby  came  galloping  the  owners  of  the  herds.  When 
the  old  Mongol  showed  my  papers  to  them,  they  sub- 
missively acquiesced  and  substituted  four  of  their  men 
for  those  who  had  come  with  me  thus  far.  In  this  manner 
the  Mongols  travel,  not  along  the  ourton  or  station  road 
but  directly  from  one  herd  to  another,  where  the  fresh 


212  BEASTS,    MEN  AND   GODS 

horses  are  caught  and  saddled  and  the  new  owners  sub- 
stituted for  those  of  the  last  herd.  All  the  Mongols  so 
effected  by  the  right  of  urga  try  to  finish  their  task  as 
rapidly  as  possible  and  gallop  like  mad  for  the  nearest 
herd  in  your  general  direction  of  travel  to  turn  over  their 
task  to  their  neighbor.  Any  traveler  having  this  right  of 
urga  can  catch  horses  himself  and,  if  there  are  no  owners, 
can  force  the  former  ones  to  carry  on  and  leave  the  ani- 
mals in  the  next  herd  he  requisitions.  But  this  happen;: 
very  rarely  because  the  Mongol  never  likes  to  seek  out  his 
animals  in  another's  herd,  as  it  always  gives  so  many 
chances  for  controversy. 

It  was  from  this  custom,  according  to  one  explanation, 
that  the  town  of  Urga  took  its  name  among  outsiders. 
By  the  Mongols  themselves  it  is  always  referred  to  as 
Ta  Kure,  "The  Great  Monastery."  The  reason  the 
Buriats  and  Russians,  who  were  the  first  to  trade  into  this 
region,  called  it  Urga  was  because  it  was  the  principal 
destination  of  all  the  trading  expeditions  which  crossed 
the  plains  by  this  old  method  or  right  of  travel.  A  second 
explanation  is  that  the  town  lies  in  a  "loop"  whose  sides 
are  formed  by  three  mountain  ridges,  along  one  of  which 
the  River  Tola  i;uns  like  the  pole  or  stick  of  the  familiar 
urga  of  the  plains. 

Thanks  to  this  unique  ticket  of  urga  I  crossed  quite 
untraveled  sections  of  Mongolia  for  about  two  hundred 
miles.  It  gave  me  the  welcome  opportunity  to  observe  the 
fauna  of  this  part  of  the  country.  I  saw  many  huge  herde 
of  Mongolian  antelopes  running  from  five  to  six  thous 
sand,  many  groups  of  bighorns,  wapiti  and  kaharga  an- 
telopes. Sometimes  small  herds  of  wild  horses  and  wild 
asses  flashed  as  a  vision  on  the  horizon. 


TRAVELING   BY   "  URGA  "  213 

In  one  place  I  observed  a  big  colony  of  marmots.  All 
over  an  area  of  several  square  miles  their  mounds  were 
scattered  with  the  holes  leading  down  to  their  runways 
below,  the  dwellings  of  the  marmot.  In  and  out  among 
these  mounds  the  greyish-yellow  or  brown  animals  ran  in 
all  sizes  up  to  half  that  of  an  average  dog.  They  ran 
heavily  and  the  skin  on  their  fat  bodies  moved  as  though 
it  were  too  big  for  them.  The  marmots  arc  splendid 
prospectors,  always  digging  deep  ditches,  throwing  out 
on  the  surface  all  the  stones.  In  many  places  I  saw 
mounds  the  marmots  had  made  from  copper  ore  and  far- 
ther north  some  from  minerals  containing  wolfram  and 
vanadium.  Whenever  the  marmot  is  at  the  entrance  of 
his  hole,  he  sits  up  straight  on  his  hind  legs  and  looks  like 
a  bit  of  wood,  a  small  stump  or  a  stone.  As  soon  as  he 
spies  a  rider  in  the  distance,  he  watches  him  with  great 
curiosity  and  begins  whistling  sharply.  This  curiosity  of 
the  marmots  is  taken  advantage  of  by  the  hunters,  who 
sneak  up  to  their  holes  flourishing  streamers  of  cloth  on 
the  tips  of  long  poles.  The  whole  attention  of  the  small 
animals  is  concentrated  on  this  small  flag  and  only  the 
bullet  that  takes  his  life  explains  to  him  the  reason  for 
this  previously  unknown  object. 

I  saw  a  very  exciting  picture  as  I  passed  through  a 
marmot  colony  near  the  Orkhon  River.  There  were 
thousands  of  holes  here  so  that  my  Mongols  had  to  use 
all  their  skill  to  keep  the  horses  from  breaking  their  legs 
in  them.  I  noticed  an  eagle  circling  high  overhead.  All 
of  a  sudden  he  dropped  like  a  stone  to  the  top  of  a  mound, 
where  he  sat  motionless  as  a  rock.  The  marmot  in  a  few 
minutes  ran  out  of  his  hole  to  a  neighbor's  doorway.  The 
eagle  calmly  jumped  down  from  the  top  and  with  one 


214  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

wing  closed  the  entrance  to  the  hole.  The  rodent  heard 
the  noise,  turned  back  and  rushed  to  the  attack,  trying  to 
break  through  to  his  hole  where  he  had  evidently  left  his 
family.  The  struggle  began.  The  eagle  fought  with  one 
free  wing,  one  leg  and  his  beak  but  did  not  withdraw  the 
bar  to  the  entrance.  The  marmot  jumped  at  the  rapacious 
bird  with  great  boldness  but  soon  fell  from  a  blow  on  the 
head.  Only  then  the  eagle  withdrew  his  wing,  approached 
the  marmot,  finished  him  off  and  with  difficulty  lifted  him 
in  his  talons  to  carry  him  away  to  the  mountains  for  a 
tasty  luncheon. 

In  the  more  barren  places  with  only  occasional  spears 
of  grass  in  the  plain  another  species  of  rodent  lives,  called 
imouran,  about  the  size  of  a  squirrel.  They  have  a  coat 
the  same  color  as  the  prairie  and,  running  about  it  like 
snakes,  they  collect  the  seeds  that  are  blown  across  by  the 
wind  and  carry  them  down  into  their  diminutive  homes. 
The  imouran  has  a  truly  faithful  friend,  the  yellow  lark 
of  the  prairie  with  a  brown  back  and  head.  When  he  sees 
the  imouran  running  across  the  plain,  he  settles  on  his 
back,  flaps  his  wings  in  balance  and  rides  well  this  swiftly 
galloping  mount,  who  gaily  flourishes  his  long  shaggy 
tail.  The  lark  during  his  ride  skilfully  and  quickly  catches 
the  parasites  living  on  the  body  of  his  friend,  giving  evi- 
dence of  his  enjoyment  of  his  work  with  a  short  agreeable 
song.  The  Mongols  call  the  imouran  "the  steed  of  the 
gay  lark."  The  lark  warns  the  imouran  of  the  approach 
of  eagles  and  hawks  with  three  sharp  whistles  the  moment 
he  sees  the  aerial  brigand  and  takes  refuge  himself  behind 
a  stone  or  in  a  small  ditch.  After  this  signal  no  imouran 
will  stick  his  head  out  of  his  hole  until  the  danger  is  past. 


TRAVELING  BY  "  URGA  "  215 

Thus  the  gay  lark  and  his  steed  live  in  kindly  neighborli- 
ness. 

In  other  parts  of  Mongolia  where  there  was  very  rich 
grass  I  saw  another  type  of  rodent,  which  I  had  previ- 
ously come  across  in  Urianhai.  It  is  a  gigantic  black 
prairie  rat  with  a  short  tail  and  lives  in  colonies  of  from 
one  to  two  hundred.  He  is  interesting  and  unique  as  the 
most  skilful  farmer  among  the  animals  in  his  preparation 
of  his  winter  supply  of  fodder.  During  the  weeks  when 
the  grass  is  most  succulent  he  actually  mows  it  down  with 
swift  jerky  swings  of  his  head,  cutting  about  twenty  or 
thirty  stalks  with  his  sharp  long  front  teeth.  Then  he 
allows  his  grass  to  cure  and  later  puts  up  his  prepared  hay 
in  a  most  scientific  manner.  First  he  makes  a  mound 
about  a  foot  high.  Through  this  he  pushes  down  into  the 
ground  four  slanting  stakes,  converging  toward  the 
middle  of  the  pile,  and  binds  them  close  over  the  surface 
of  the  hay  with  the  longest  strands  of  grass,  leaving  the 
ends  protruding  enough  for  him  to  add  another  foot  to 
the  height  of  the  pile,  when  he  again  binds  the  surface 
with  more  long  strands — all  this  to  keep  his  winter  sup- 
ply of  food  from  blowing  away  over  the  prairie.  This 
stock  he  always  locates  right  at  the  door  of  his  den  to 
avoid  long  winter  hauls.  The  horses  and  camels  are  very 
fond  of  this  small  farmer's  hay,  because  it  is  always  made 
from  the  most  nutritious  grass.  The  haycocks  are  so 
strongly  made  that  one  can  hardly  kick  them  to  pieces. 

Almost  everywhere  in  Mongolia  I  met  either  single 
pairs  or  whole  flocks  of  the  greyish -yellow  prairie  par- 
tridges, saiga  or  "partridge  swallow,"  so  called  because 
they  have  long  sharp  tails  resembling  those  of  swallows 
and  because  their  flight  also  is  a  close  copy  oi  that  of  the 


2i6  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

swallow.  These  birds  are  very  tame  or  fearless,  allowing 
men  to  come  within  ten  or  fifteen  paces  of  them;  but, 
when  they  do  break,  they  go  high  and  fly  long  distances 
without  lighting,  whistling  all  the  time  quite  like  swallows. 
Their  general  markings  are  light  grey  and  yellow,  though 
the  males  have  pretty  chocolate  spots  on  the  backs  and 
wings,  while  their  legs  and  feet  are  heavily  feathered. 

My  opportunity  to  make  these  observations  came  from 
traveling  through  unfrequented  regions  by  the  urga, 
which,  however,  had  its  counterbalancing  disadvantages. 
The  Mongols  carried  me  directly  and  swiftly  toward  my 
destination,  receiving  with  great  satisfaction  the  presents 
of  Chinese  dollars  which  I  gave  them.  But  after  having 
made  about  five  thousand  miles  on  my  Cossack  saddle 
that  now  lay  behind  me  on  the  cart  all  covered  with  dust 
like  common  merchandise,  I  rebelled  against  being 
wracked  and  torn  by  the  rough  riding  of  the  cart  as  it 
was  swung  heedlessly  over  stones,  hillocks  and  ditches  by 
the  wild  horses  with  their  equally  wild  riders,  bounding 
and  cracking  and  holding  together  only  through  its 
tenacity  of  purpose  in  demonstrating  the  cosiness  and  at- 
tractiveness of  a  good  ]\Iongol  equipage !  All  my  bones 
began  to  ache.  Finally  I  groaned  at  every  lunge  and  at 
last  I  suffered  a  very  sharp  attack  of  ischias  or  sciatica  in 
my  wounded  leg.  At  night  I  could  neither  sleep,  lie  down 
nor  sit  with  comfort  and  spent  the  whole  night  pacing  up 
and  down  the  plain,  listening  to  the  loud  snoring  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  yiirta.  At  times  I  had  to  fight  the  two 
huge  black  dogs  which  attacked  me.  The  following  day 
I  could  endure  the  wracking  only  until  noon  and  was  then 
forced  to  give  up  and  lie  down.  The  pain  was  unbear- 
able.    I  could  not  move  my  leg  nor  my  back  and  finally 


TRAVELING  BY  "  URGA  "  217 

fell  into  a  high  fever.  We  were  forced  to  stop  and  rest. 
I  swallowed  all  my  stock  of  aspirin  and  quinine  but  with- 
out relief.  Before  me  was  a  sleepless  night  about  which 
I  could  not  think  without  weakening  fear.  We  had 
stopped  in  the  yurta  for  guests  by  the  side  of  a  small 
monastery.  My  Mongols  invited  the  Lama  doctor  to 
visit  me,  who  gave  me  two  very  bitter  powders  and  as- 
sured me  I  should  be  able  to  continue  in  the  morning. 
I  soon  felt  a  stimulated  palpitation  of  the  heart,  after 
which  the  pain  became  even  sharper.  Again  I  spent  the 
night  without  any  sleep  but  when  the  sun  arose  the  pain 
ceased  instantly  and,  after  an  hour,  I  ordered  them  to 
saddle  me  a  horse,  as  I  was  afraid  to  continue  further 
in  the  cart. 

While  the  Mongols  were  catching  the  horses,  there 
came  to  my  tent  Colonel  N.  N.  Philipoff,  who  told  me 
that  he  denied  all  the  accusations  that  he  and  his  brother 
and  Poletika  were  Bolsheviki  and  that  Bezrodnoff  allowed 
him  to  go  to  Van  Kure  to  meet  Baron  Ungem,  who  was 
expected  there.  Only  Philipoff  did  not  know  that  his 
Mongol  guide  was  armed  with  a  bomb  and  that  another 
Mongol  had  been  sent  on  ahead  with  a  letter  to  Baron 
Ungern.  He  did  not  know  that  Poletika  and  his  brothers 
were  shot  at  the  same  time  in  Zain  Shabi.  Philipoff  was 
in  a  hurry  and  wanted  to  reach  Van  Kure  that  day.  I 
left  an  hour  after  him. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 
AN  OLD  FORTUNE  TELLER 

FROM  this  point  we  began  traveling  along  the  our  ton 
road.  In  this  region  the  Mongols  had  very  poor 
and  exhausted  horses,  because  they  were  forced  continu- 
ously to  supply  mounts  to  the  numerous  envoys  of  Dai- 
chin  Van  and  of  Colonel  Kazagrandi.  We  were  com- 
pelled to  spend  the  night  at  the  last  oiirton  before  Van 
Kure,  where  a  stout  old  Mongol  and  his  son  kept  the 
station.  After  our  supper  he  took  the  shoulder-blade 
of  the  sheep,  which  had  been  carefully  scraped  clean 
of  all  the  flesh,  and,  looking  at  me^  placed  this  bone  in 
the  coals  with  some  incantations  and  said: 

'T  want  to  tell  your  fortune.  All  my  predictions  come 
true." 

When  the  bone  had  been  blackened,  he  drew  i^  out, 
blew  off  the  ashes  and  began  to  scrutinize  the  surface 
very  closely  and  to  look  through  it  into  the  fire.  He 
continued  his  examination  for  a  long  time  and  then, 
with  fear  in  his  face,  placed  the  bone  back  in  the  coals. 

"What  did  you  see?"  I  asked,  laughing. 

"Be  silent!"  he  whispered.  "I  made  out  horrible 
signs." 

He  again  took  out  the  bone  and  began  examining  it 
all  over,  all  the  time  whispering  prayers  and  making 
strange  movements.  In  a  very  solemn  quiet  voice  he 
began  his  predictions. 

218 


AN  OLD  FORTUNE  TELLER  219 

"Death  in  the  form  of  a  tall  white  man  with  red  hair 
will  stand  behind  you  and  will  watch  you  long  and  close. 
You  will  feel  it  and  wait  but  Death  will  withdraw.  .  .  . 
Another  white  man  will  become  your  friend.  .  .  .  Before 
the  fourth  day  you  will  lose  your  acquaintances.  They 
will  die  by  a  long  knife.  I  already  see  them  being  eaten 
by  the  dogs.  Beware  of  the  man  with  a  head  like  a 
saddle.     He  will  strive  for  your  death." 

For  a  long  time  after  the  fortune  had  been  told  we  sat 
smoking  and  drinking  tea  but  still  the  old  fellow  looked 
at  me  only  with  fear.  Through  my  brain  flashed  the 
thought  that  thus  must  his  companions  in  prison  look  at 
one  who  is  condemned  to  death. 

The  next  morning  we  left  the  fortune  teller  before  the 
sun  was  up,  and,  when  we  had  made  about  fifteen  miles, 
hove  in  sight  of  Van  Kure.  I  found  Colonel  Kazagrandi 
at  his  headquarters.  He  was  a  man  of  good  family,  an 
experienced  engineer  and  a  splendid  officer,  who  had  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  the  war  at  the  defence  of  the 
island  of  Moon  in  the  Baltic  and  afterwards  in  the  fight 
with  the  Bolsheviki  on  the  Volga.  Colonel  Kazagrandi 
offered  me  a  bath  in  a  real  tub,  which  had  its  habitat  in 
the  house  of  the  president  of  the  local  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce. As  I  was  in  this  house,  a  tall  young  captain 
entered.  He  had  long  curly  red  hair  and  an  unusually 
white  face,  though  heavy  and  stolid,  with  large,  steel- 
cold  eyes  and  with  beautiful,  tender,  almost  girlish  lips. 
But  in  his  eyes  there  was  such  cold  cruelty  that  it  was 
quite  unpleasant  to  look  at  his  otherwise  fine  face.  When 
he  left  the  room,  our  host  told  me  that  he  was  Captain 
VeselofFsky,  the  adjutant  of  General  Rezukhin,  who  was 
fighting  ajrainst  the  Bolsheviki  in  the  north  of  Mongolia. 


220  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

They  had  just  that  day  arrived  for  a  conference  with 
Baron  Ungern. 

After  luncheon  Colonel  Kazagrandi  invited  me  to  his 
yurta  and  began  discussing  events  in  western  Mongolia, 
where  the  situation  had  become  very  tense. 

"Do  you  know  Dr.  Gay?"  Kazagrandi  asked  me.  "You 
know  he  helped  me  to  form  my  detachment  but  Urga 
accuses  him  of  being  the  agent  of  the  Soviets." 

I  made  all  the  defences  I  could  for  Gay.  He  had 
helped  me  and  had  been  exonerated  by  Kolchak. 

"Yes,  yes,  and  I  justified  Gay  in  such  a  manner,"  said 
the  Colonel,  "but  Rezukhin,  who  has  just  arrived  today, 
has  brought  letters  of  Gay's  to  the  Bolsheviki  which  were 
seized  in  transit.  By  order  of  Baron  Ungern,  Gay  and 
his  family  have  today  been  sent  to  the  headquarters  of 
Rezukhin  and  I  fear  that  they  will  not  reach  this  destina- 
tion." 

"Why?"  I  asked. 

"They  will  be  executed  on  the  road !"  answered  Colonel 
Kazagrandi. 

"What  are  we  to  do?"  I  responded.  "Gay  cannot  be 
a  Bolshevik,  "because  he  is  too  well  educated  and  too 
clever  for  it." 

"I  don't  know ;  I  don't  know !"  murmured  the  Colonel 
with  a  despondent  gesture.  "Try  to  speak  with 
Rezukhin." 

I  decided  to  proceed  at  once  to  Rezukhin  but  just  then 
Colonel  Philipoff  entered  and  began  talking  about  the 
errors  being  made  in  the  training  of  the  soldiers.  When 
I  had  donned  my  coat,  another  man  came  in.  He  was  a 
small  sized  officer  with  an  old  green  Cossack  cap  with 
a  visor,  a  torn  grey  Mongol  overcoat  and  with  his  right 


AN   OLD   FORTUNE   TELLER  221 

hand  in  a  black  sling  tied  around  his  neck.  It  was  Gen- 
eral Rezukhin,  to  whom  I  was  at  once  introduced.  During 
the  conversation  the  General  very  politely  and  very  skil- 
fully inquired  about  the  lives  of  Philipoff  and  myself 
during  the  last  three  years,  joking  and  laughing  with 
discretion  and  modesty.  When  he  soon  took  his  leave,  I 
availed  myself  of  the  chance  and  went  out  with  him. 

He  listened  very  attentively  and  politely  to  me  and 
afterwards,  in  his  quiet  voice,  said: 

"Dr.  Gay  is  the  agent  of  the  Soviets,  disguised  as  a 
White  in  order  the  better  to  see,  hear  and  know  every- 
thing. We  are  surrounded  by  our  enemies.  The  Rus- 
sian people  are  demoralized  and  will  undertake  any 
treachery  for  money.  Such  is  Gay.  Anyway,  what  is 
the  use  of  discussing  him  further?  He  and  his  family 
are  no  longer  alive.  Today  my  men  cut  them  to  pieces 
five  kilometres  from  here." 

In  consternation  and  fear  I  looked  at  the  face  of  this 
small,  dapper  man  with  such  soft  voice  and  courteous 
manners.  In  his  eyes  I  read  such  hate  and  tenacity  that 
I  understood  at  once  the  trembling  respect  of  all  the 
officers  whom  I  had  seen  in  his  presence.  Afterwards 
in  Urga  I  learned  more  of  this  General  Rezukhin  distin- 
guished by  his  absolute  bravery  and  boundless  cruelty. 
He  was  the  watchdog  of  Baron  Ungern,  ready  to  throw 
himself  into  the  fire  and  to  spring  at  the  throat  of  any- 
one his  master  might  indicate. 

Only  four  days  then  had  elapsed  before  "my  acquaint- 
ances" died  "by  a  long  knife,"  so  that  one  part  of  the 
prediction  had  been  thus  fulfilled.  And  now  I  have  to 
await  Death's  threat  to  me.  The  delay  was  not  long. 
Only  two  days  later  the  Chief  of  the  Asiatic  Division 
of  Cavalr>^  arrived — Baron  Ungern  von  Sternberg. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

"DEATH  FROM  THE  WHITE  MAN  WILL 
STAND  BEHIND  YOU" 

**^T^HE  terrible  general,  the  Baron,"  arrived  quite  un- 

A  expectedly,  unnoticed  by  the  outposts  of  Colonel 
Kazagrandi.  After  a  talk  with  Kazagrandi  the  Baron 
invited  Colonel  N.  N.  Philipoff  and  me  into  his  presence. 
Colonel  Kazagrandi  brought  the  word  to  me.  I  wanted 
to  go  at  once  but  was  detained  about  half  an  hour  by  the 
Colonel,  who  then  sped  me  with  the  words : 

"Now  God  help  you!    Go!" 

It  was  a  strange  parting  message,  not  reassuring  and 
quite  enigmatical.  I  took  my  Mauser  and  also  hid  in 
the  cuff  of  my  coat  my  cyanide  of  potassium.  The  Baron 
was  quartered  in  the  yurta  of  the  military  doctor.  When 
I  entered  the  court,  Captain  Veseloffsky  came  up  to  me. 
He  had  a  Cossack  sword  and  a  revolver  without  its 
holster  beneath  his  girdle.  He  went  into  the  yurta  to 
report  my  arrival. 

"Come  in,"  he  said,  as  he  emerged  from  the  tent. 

At  the  entrance  my  eyes  were  struck  with  the  sight  of 
a  pool  of  blood  that  had  not  yet  had  time  to  drain  down 
into  the  ground — an  ominous  greeting  that  seemed  to 
carry  the  very  voice  of  one  just  gone  before  me.  I 
knocked. 

"Come  in!"  was  the  answer  in  a  high  tenor.     As  I 

222 


"DEATH  FROM  THE  WHITE   MAN"        223 

passed  the  threshold,  a  figure  In  a  red  silk  Mongolian  coat 
rushed  at  me  with  the  spring  of  a  tiger,  grabbed  and  shook 
my  hand  as  though  in  flight  across  my  path  and  then  fell 
prone  on  the  bed  at  the  side  of  the  tent. 

"Tell  me  who  you  are!  Hereabouts  are  many  spies 
and  agitators,"  he  cried  out  in  an  hysterical  voice,  as  he 
fixed  his  eyes  upon  me.  In  one  moment  I  perceived  his 
appearance  and  psychology.  A  small  head  on  wide 
shoulders;  blonde  hair  in  disorder;  a  reddish  bristling 
moustache;  a  skinny,  exhausted  face,  like  those  on  the 
old  Byzantine  ikons.  Then  everything  else  faded  from 
view  save  a  big,  protruding  forehead  overhanging  steely 
sharp  eyes.  These  eyes  were  fixed  upon  me  like  those 
of  an  animal  from  a  cave.  My  observations  lasted  for 
but  a  flash  but  I  understood  that  before  me  was  a  very 
dangerous  man  ready  for  an  instant  spring  into  irrev- 
ocable action.  Though  the  danger  was  evident,  1  felt 
^.he  deepest  offence. 

"Sit  down,"  he  snapped  out  in  a  hissing  voice,  as  he 
pointed  to  a  chair  and  impatiently  pulled  at  his  mous- 
tache. I  felt  my  anger  rising  through  my  whole  body 
and  I  said  to  him  without  taking  the  chair: 

"You  have  allowed  yourself  to  offend  me,  Baron.  My 
name  is  well  enough  known  so  that  you  cannot  thus  in- 
dulge yourself  in  such  epithets.  You  can  do  with  me 
as  you  wish,  because  force  is  on  your  side,  but  you  can- 
not compel  me  to  speak  with  one  who  gives  me  offence." 

At  these  words  of  mine  he  swung  his  feet  down  off 
the  bed  and  with  evident  astonishment  began  to  survey 
me,  holding  his  breath  and  pulling  still  at  his  moustache. 
Retaining  my  exterior  calmness,  I  began  to  glance  indif- 
ferently around  the  yuria,  and  only  then  I  noticed  Gen- 


224  BEASTS,   MEN   AND   GODS 

eial  Rezukhin.  I  bowed  to  him  and  received  his  silent 
acknowledgment.  After  that  I  swung  my  glance  back 
to  the  Baron,  who  sat  with  bowed  head  and  closed  eyes, 
from  time  to  time  rubbing  his  brow  and  mumbling  to 
himself. 

Suddenly  he  stood  up  and  sharply  said,  looking  past 
and  over  me: 

"Go  out !    There  is  no  need  of  more.,  .  .  .*' 

I  swung  round  and  saw  Captain  Veseloffsky  with  his 
white,  cold  face.  I  had  not  heard  him  enter.  He  did  a 
formal  "about  face"  and  passed  out  of  the  door. 

"  'Death  from  the  white  man'  has  stood  behind  me," 
I  thought;  "but  has  it  quite  left  me?" 

The  Baron  stood  thinking  for  some  time  and  then 
began  to  speak  in  jumbled,  unfinished  phrases. 

"I  ask  your  pardon.  .  .  .  You  must  understand  there 
are  so  many  traitors!  Honest  men  have  disappeared. 
I  cannot  trust  anybody.  All  names  are  false  and  as- 
sumed; documents  are  counterfeited.  Eyes  and  words 
deceive.  .  ,  .  All  is  demoralized,  insulted  by  Bolshevism. 
I  just  ordered  Colonel  Philipoff  cut  down,  he  who  called 
himself  the  representative  of  the  Russian  White  Organi- 
zation. In  the  lining  of  his  garments  were  found  two 
secret  Bolshevik  codes.  .  .  .  When  my  officer  flourished 
his  sword  over  him,  he  exclaimed:  'Why  do  you  kill  me, 
Tavarischef     I  cannot  trust  anybody.  ..." 

He  was  silent  and  I  also  held  my  peace. 

"I  beg  your  pardon!"  he  began  anew.  "I  offended 
you;  but  I  am  not  simply  a  man,  I  am  a  leader  of  great 
forces  and  have  in  my  head  so  much  care,  sorrow  and 
woe!" 

In  his  voice  I  felt  there  was  mingled  despair  and  sin- 


"DEATH  FROM  THE  WHITE  MAN"        225 

ccrity.  He  frankly  put  out  his  hand  to  me.  Again 
silence.    At  last  I  answered : 

"What  do  you  order  me  to  do  now,  for  I  have  neither 
counterfeit  nor  real  documents?  But  many  of  your  offi- 
cers know  me  and  in  Urga  I  can  find  many  who  will  tes- 
tify that  I  could  be  neither  agitator  nor  ..." 

"No  need,  no  need!"  interrupted  the  Baron.  "All  is 
clear,  all  is  understood !  I  was  in  your  soul  and  I  know 
all.  It  is  the  truth  which  Hutuktu  Narabanchi  has 
written  about  you.    What  can  I  do  for  you?" 

I  explained  how  my  friend  and  I  had  escaped  from 
Soviet  Russia  in  the  effort  to  reach  our  native  land  and 
how  a  group  of  Polish  soldiers  had  joined  us  in  the  hope 
of  getting  back  to  Poland;  and  I  asked  that  help  be  given 
us  to  reach  the  nearest  port. 

"With  pleasure,  with  pleasure.  ...  I  will  help  you 
all,"  he  answered  excitedly.  "I  shall  drive  you  to  Urga 
in  my  motor  car.  Tomorrow  we  shall  start  and  there  in 
Urga  we  shall  talk  about  further  arrangements." 

Taking  my  leave,  I  went  out  of  the  yurta.  On  arriving 
at  my  quarters,  I  found  Colonel  Kazagrandi  in  great 
anxiety  walking  up  and  down  my  room. 

"Thanks  be  to  God!"  he  exclaimed  and  crossed  him- 
self. 

His  joy  was  very  touching  but  at  the  same  time  I 
thought  that  the  Colonel  could  have  taken  much  more 
active  measures  for  the  salvation  of  his  guest,  if  he  had 
been  so  minded.  The  agitation  of  this  day  had  tired  me 
and  made  me  feel  years  older.  When  I  looked  in  the 
mirror  I  was  certain  there  were  more  white  hairs  on  my 
head.  At  night  I  could  not  sleep  for  the  flashing  thoughts 
of  the  young,  fine  face  of  Colonel  Philipoff.  the  pool  of 


226  BEASTS,    MEN  AND   GODS 

blood,  the  cold  eyes  of  Captain  Veseloffsky,  the  sound 
of  Baron  Ungern's  voice  with  its  tones  of  despair  and 
woe,  until  finally  I  sank  into  a  heavy  stupor.  I  was 
awakened  by  Baron  Ungem  who  came  to  ask  pardon  that 
he  could  not  take  me  in  his  motor  car,  because  he  was 
obliged  to  take  Daichin  Van  with  him.  But  he  informed 
me  that  he  had  left  instructions  to  give  me  his  own  white 
camel  and  two  Cossacks  as  servants.  I  had  no  time  to 
thank  him  before  he  rushed  out  of  my  room. 

Sleep  then  entirely  deserted  me,  so  I  dressed  and  began 
smoking  pipe  after  pipe  of  tobacco,  as  I  thought:  "How 
much  easier  to  fight  the  Bolsheviki  on  the  swamps  of 
Seybi  and  to  cross  the  snowy  peaks  of  Ulan  Taiga,  where 
the  bad  demons  kill  all  the  travelers  they  can!  There 
everything  was  simple  and  comprehensible,  but  here  it 
is  all  a  mad  nightmare,  a  dark  and  foreboding  storm!" 
I  felt  some  tragedy,  some  horror  in  every  movement  of 
Baron  Ungern,  behind  whom  paced  this  silent,  white- 
faced  Veseloffsky  and  Death. 


CHAPTER  XXXrV 
THE  HORROR  OF  WAR! 

AT  dawn  of  the  following  morning  they  led  up  the 
splendid  white  camel  for  me  and  we  moved  away. 
My  company  consisted  of  the  two  Cossacks,  two  Mongol 
soldiers  and  one  Lama  with  two  pack  camels  carrying 
the  tent  and  food.  I  still  apprehended  that  the  Baron 
had  it  in  mind  not  to  dispose  of  me  before  my  friends 
there  in  Van  Kure  but  to  prepare  this  journey  for  me 
under  the  guise  of  which  it  would  be  so  easy  to  do  away 
with  me  by  the  road.  A  bullet  in  the  back  and  all  would 
be  finished.  Consequently  I  was  momentarily  ready  to 
draw  my  revolver  and  defend  myself.  I  took  care  all 
the  time  to  have  the  Cossacks  either  ahead  of  me  or  at 
the  side.  About  noon  we  heard  the  distant  honk  of  a 
motor  car  and  soon  saw  Baron  Ungern  whizzing  by  us  at 
full  speed.  With  him  were  two  adjutants  and  Prince 
Daichin  Van.  The  Baron  greeted  me  very  kindly  and 
shouted : 

"Shall  see  you  again  in  Urga !" 

"Ah!"  I  thought,  "evidently  I  shall  reach  Urga.  So 
1  can  be  at  ease  during  my  trip,  and  in  Urga  I  have  many 
friends  beside  the  presence  there  of  the  bold  Polish  sol- 
diers whom  I  had  worked  with  in  Uliassutai  and  who  had 
outdistanced  me  in  this  journey." 

After  the  meeting  with  the  Baron  my  Cossacks  be- 

227 


228  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

came  very  attentive  to  me  and  sought  to  distract  me  with 
stories.  They  told  me  about  their  very  severe  struggles 
with  the  Bolsheviki  in  Transbaikalia  and  Mongolia,  about 
the  battle  with  the  Chinese  near  Urga,  about  finding  com- 
munistic passports  on  several  Chinese  soldiers  frorn  Mos- 
cow, about  the  bravery  of  Baron  Ungern  and  how  he 
would  sit  at  the  campfire  smoking  and  drinking  tea  right 
on  the  battle  line  without  ever  being  touched  by  a  bullet. 
At  one  fight  seventy-four  bullets  entered  his  overcoat, 
saddle  and  the  boxes  by  his  side  and  again  left  him  un- 
touched. This  is  one  of  the  reasons  for  his  great  influ- 
ence over  the  Mongols.  They  related  how  before  the 
battle  he  had  made  a  reconnaissance  in  Urga  with  only 
one  Cossack  and  on  his  way  back  had  killed  a  Chinese 
officer  and  two  soldiers  with  his  bamboo  stick  or  tashur; 
how  he  had  no  outfit  save  one  change  of  linen  and  one 
extra  pair  of  boots;  how  he  was  always  calm  and  jovial 
in  battle  and  severe  and  morose  in  the  rare  days  of  peace; 
and  how  he  was  everywhere  his  soldiers  were  fighting. 
I  told  them,  in  turn,  of  my  escape  from  Siberia  and 
with  chatting  thus  the  day  slipped  by  very  quickly.  Our 
camels  trotted  all  the  time,  so  that  instead  of  the  ordinary 
eighteen  to  twenty  miles  per  day  we  made  nearly  fifty. 
My  mount  was  the  fastest  of  them  all.  He  was  a  huge 
white  animal  with  a  splendid  thick  mane  and  had  been 
presented  to  Baron  Ungern  by  some  Prince  of  Inner 
Mongolia  with  two  black  sables  tied  on  the  bridle.  He 
was  a  calm,  strong,  bold  giant  of  the  desert,  on  whose 
back  I  felt  myself  as  though  perched  on  the  tower  of  a 
building.  Beyond  the  Orkhon  River  we  came  across  the 
first  dead  body  of  a  Chinese  soldier,  which  lay  face  up 
and  arms  outstretched  right  in  the  middle  of  the  road. 


THE  HORROR  OF  WAR!  229 

When  we  had  crossed  the  Burgut  Mountains,  we  entered 
the  Tola  River  valley,  farther  up  which  Urga  is  located. 
The  road  was  strewn  with  the  overcoats,  shirts,  boots, 
caps  and  kettles  which  the  Chinese  had  thrown  away  in 
their  flight ;  and  marked  by  many  of  their  dead.  Further 
on  the  road  crossed  a  morass,  where  on  either  side  lay 
great  mounds  of  the  dead  bodies  of  men,  horses  and 
camels  with  broken  carts  and  military  debris  of  every 
sort.  Here  the  Tibetans  of  Baron  Ungern  had  cut  up 
the  escaping  Chinese  baggage  transport;  and  it  was  a 
'strange  and  gloomy  contrast  to  see  the  piles  of  dead 
besides  the  effervescing  awakening  life  of  spring.  In 
every  pool  wild  ducks  of  different  kinds  floated  about; 
in  the  high  grass  the  cranes  performed  their  weird  dance 
of  courtship ;  on  the  lakes  great  flocks  of  swans  and  geese 
were  swimming;  through  the  swampy  places  like  spots 
of  light  moved  the  brilliantly  colored  pairs  of  the  Mon- 
golian sacred  bird,  the  ttcrpan  or  "Lama  goose" ;  on  the 
higher  dry  places  flocks  of  wild  turkey  gamboled  and 
fought  as  they  fed ;  flocks  of  the  saiga  partridge  whistled 
by;  while  on  the  mountain  side  not  far  away  the  wolves 
lay  basking  and  turning  in  the  lazy  warmth  of  the  sun, 
whining  and  occasionally  barking  like  playful  dogs. 

Nature  knows  only  life.  Death  is  for  her  but  an  epi- 
sode whose  traces  she  rubs  out  with  sand  and  snow  or 
ornaments  with  luxuriant  greenery  and  brightly  colored 
bushes  and  flowers.  What  matters  it  to  Nature  if  a 
mother  at  Chefoo  or  on  the  banks  of  the  Yangtse  offers 
her  bowl  of  rice  with  burning  incense  at  some  shrine  and 
prays  for  the  return  of  her  son  that  has  fallen  unknown 
for  all  time  on  the  plains  along  the  Tola,  where  his  bones 
will  dry  beneath  the  rays  of  Nature's  dissipating  fire 


aso  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

and  be  scattered  by  her  winds  over  the  sands  of  the 
prairie?  It  is  splendid,  this  indifference  of  Nature  to 
death,  and  her  greediness  for  Hfe! 

On  the  fourth  day  we  made  the  shores  of  the  Tola 
well  after  nightfall.  We  could  not  find  the  regular  ford 
and  I  forced  my  camel  to  enter  the  stream  in  the  attempt 
to  make  a  crossing  without  guidance.  Very  fortunately 
I  found  a  shallow,  though  somewhat  miry,  place  and  we 
got  over  all  right.  This  if  something  to  be  thankful  for 
in  fording  a  river  with  a  camel;  because,  when  your 
mount  finds  the  water  too  deep,  coming  up  around  his 
neck,  he  does  not  strike  out  and  swim  like  a  horse  will  do 
but  just  rolls  over  on  his  side  and  floats,  which  is  vastly 
inconvenient  for  his  rider.  Down  by  the  river  we  pegged 
our  tent. 

Fifteen  miles  further  on  we  crossed  a  battlefield,  where 
the  third  great  battle  for  the  independence  of  Mongolia 
had  been  fought.  Here  the  troops  of  Baron  Ungern 
clashed  with  six  thousand  Chinese  moving  down  from 
Kiakhta  to  the  aid  of  Urga.  The  Chinese  were  com- 
pletely defeated  and  four  thousand  prisoners  taken.  How- 
ever, these  surrendered  Chinese  tried  to  escape  during  the 
night.  Baron  Ungern  sent  the  Transbaikal  Cossacks  and 
Tibetans  in  pursuit  of  them  and  it  was  their  work  which 
we  saw  on  this  field  of  death.  There  were  still  about 
fifteen  hundred  unburied  and  as  many  more  interred, 
according  to  the  statements  of  our  Cossacks,  who  had 
participated  in  this  battle.  The  killed  showed  terrible 
sword  wounds;  everywhere  equipment  and  other  debris 
were  scattered  about.  The  Mongols  with  their  herds 
moved  away  from  the  neighborhood  and  their  place  was 
taken  by  the  wolves  which  hid  behind  every  stone  and 


THE  HORROR  OF  WAR!  231 

in  every  ditch  as  we  passed.  Packs  of  dogs  that  had 
become  wild  fought  with  the  wolves  over  the  prey. 

At  last  we  left  this  place  of  carnage  to  the  cursed  god 
of  war.  Soon  we  approached  a  shallow,  rapid  stream, 
where  the  Mongols  slipped  from  their  camels,  took  off 
their  caps  and  began  drinking.  It  was  a  sacred  stream 
which  passed  beside  the  abode  of  the  Living  Buddha. 
From  this  winding  valley  we  suddenly  turned  into  another 
where  a  great  mountain  ridge  covered  with  dark,  dense 
forest  loomed  up  before  us. 

"Holy  Bogdo-Ol!"  exclaimed  the  Lama.  "The  abode 
of  the  Gods  which  guard  our  Living  Buddha!" 

Bogdo-Ol  is  the  huge  knot  which  ties  together  here 
three  mountain  chains:  Gegyl  from  the  southwest, 
Gangyn  from  the  south,  and  Huntu  from  the  north.  This 
mountain  covered  with  virgin  forest  is  the  property  of 
the  Living  Buddha.  The  forests  are  full  of  nearly  all 
the  varieties  of  animals  found  in  Mongolia,  but  hunting 
is  not  allowed.  Any  Mongol  violating  this  law  is  con- 
demned to  death,  while  foreigners  are  deported.  Cross- 
ing the  Bogdo-Ol  is  forbidden  under  penalty  of  death. 
This  command  was  transgressed  by  only  one  man,  Baron 
Ungern,  who  crossed  the  mountain  with  fifty  Cossacks, 
penetrated  to  the  palace  of  the  Living  Buddha,  where  the 
Pontiff  of  Urga  was  being  held  under  arrest  by  the 
Chinese,  and  stole  him. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

IN  THE  CITY  OF  LIVING  GODS,  OF  30,000 
BUDDHAS  AND  60,000  MONKS 

AT  last  before  our  eyes  the  abode  of  the  Living 
Buddha!  At  the  foot  of  Bogdo-Ol  behind  white 
walls  rose  a  white  Tibetan  building  covered  with  green- 
ish-blue tiles  that  glittered  under  the  sunshine.  It  was 
richly  set  among  groves  of  trees  dotted  here  and  there 
with  the  fantastic  roofs  of  shrines  and  small  palaces,  while 
further  from  the  mountain  it  was  connected  by  a  long 
wooden  bridge  across  the  Tola  with  the  city  of  monks, 
sacred  and  revered  throughout  all  the  East  as  Ta  Kure 
or  Urga.  Here  besides  the  Living  Buddha  live  whole 
throngs  of  secondary  miracle  workers,  prophets,  sor- 
cerers and  wonderful  doctors.  All  these  people  have 
divine  origin  and  are  honored  as  living  gods.  At  the 
left  on  the  high  plateau  stands  an  old  monastery  with  a 
huge,  dark  red  tower,  which  is  known  as  the  "Temple 
Lamas  City,"  containing  a  gigantic  bronze  gilded  statue 
of  Buddha  sitting  on  the  golden  flower  of  the  lotus;  tens 
of  smaller  temples,  shrines,  oho,  open  altars,  towers  for 
astrology  and  the  grey  city  of  the  Lamas  consisting  of 
single-storied  houses  and  yiirtas,  where  about  60,000 
monks  of  all  ages  and  ranks  dwell;  schools,  sacred 
archives  and  libraries,  the  houses  of  Bandi  and  the  inns 
for  the  honored  guests  from  China,  Tibet,  and  the  lands 
of  the  Buriat  and  Kalmuck. 

232 


IN   THE  CITY  OF  LIVING  GODS  233 

Down  below  the  monastery  is  the  foreign  settlement 
where  the  Russian,  foreign  and  richest  Chinese  merchants 
live  and  where  the  multi-colored  and  crowded  oriental 
bazaar  carries  forward  its  bustling  life.  A  kilometre 
away  the  greyish  enclosure  of  Maimachen  surrounds  the 
remaining  Chinese  trading  establishments,  while  farther 
on  one  sees  a  long  row  of  Russian  private  houses,  a  hos- 
pital, church,  prison  and,  last  of  all,  the  awkward  four- 
storied  red  brick  building  that  was  formerly  the  Russian 
Consulate. 

We  were  already  within  a  short  distance  of  the  mon- 
astery, when  I  noticed  several  Mongol  soldiers  in  the 
mouth  of  a  ravine  nearby,  dragging  back  and  concealing 
in  the  ravine  three  dead  bodies. 

"What  are  they  doing?"  I  asked. 

The  Cossacks  only  smiled  without  answering.  Sud- 
denly they  straightened  up  with  a  sharp  salute.  Out  oT 
the  ravine  came  a  small,  stocky  Mongolian  pony  with  a 
short  man  in  the  saddle.  As  he  passed  us,  I  noticed  the 
epaulets  of  a  colonel  and  the  green  cap  with  a  visor.  He 
examined  me  with  cold,  colorless  eyes  from  under  dense 
brows.  As  he  went  on  ahead,  he  took  off  his  cap  and 
wiped  the  perspiration  from  his  bald  head.  My  eyes 
were  struck  by  the  strange  undulating  line  of  his  skull. 
It  was  the  man  "with  the  head  like  a  saddle,"  against 
whom  I  had  been  warned  by  the  old  fortune  teller  at  the 
last  ourton  outside  Van  Kure ! 

"Who  is  this  officer?"  I  inquired. 

Although  he  was  already  quite  a  distance  in  front  of 
us,  the  Cossacks  whispered:  "Colonel  SepailofT,  Com- 
mandant of  Urga  City." 

Colonel  Sepailoff,  the  darkest  person  on  the  canvas 


234  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

of  Mongolian  events!  Formerly  a  mechanician,  after- 
wards a  gendarme,  he  had  gained  quick  promotion  under 
the  Czar's  regime.  He  was  always  nervously  jerking  and 
wriggling  his  body  and  talking  ceaselessly,  making  most 
unattractive  sounds  in  his  throat  and  sputtering  with 
saliva  all  over  his  lips,  his  whole  face  often  contracted 
with  spasms.  He  was  mad  and  Baron  Ungern  twice  ap- 
pointed a  commission  of  surgeons  to  examine  him  and 
ordered  him  to  rest  in  the  hope  he  could  rid  the  man  of 
his  evil  genius.  Undoubtedly  Sepailoff  was  a  sadist.  I 
heard  afterwards  that  he  himself  executed  the  condemned 
people,  joking  and  singing  as  he  did  his  work.  Dark, 
terrifying  tales  were  current  about  him  in  Urga.  He 
was  a  bloodhound,  fastening  his  victims  with  the  jaws 
of  death.  All  the  glory  of  the  cruelty  of  Baron  Ungern 
belonged  to  Sepailoff.  Afterwards  Baron  Ungern  once 
told  me  in  Urga  that  this  Sepailoff  annoyed  him  and  that 
Sepailoff  could  kill  him  just  as  well  as  others.  Baron 
Ungern  feared  Sepailoff,  not  as  a  man,  but  dominated  by 
his  own  superstition,  because  Sepailoff  had  found  in 
Transbaikalia  a  witch  doctor  who  predicted  the  death  of 
the  Baron  if  he  dismissed  Sepailoff.  Sepailoff  knew  no 
pardon  for  Bolshevik  nor  for  any  one  connected  with 
the  Bolsheviki  in  any  way.  The  reason  for  his  vengeful 
spirit  was  that  the  Bolsheviki  had  tortured  him  in  prison 
and,  after  his  escape,  had  killed  all  his  family.  He  was 
now  taking  his  revenge. 

I  put  up  with  a  Russian  firm  and  was  at  once  visited 
by  my  associates  from  Uliassutai,  who  greeted  me  with 
great  joy  because  they  had  been  much  exercised  about 
the  events  in  Van  Kure  and  Zain  Shabi.  When  I  had 
bathed  and  spruced  up,   I  went  out  with  them  on  the 


IN  THE  CITY  OF  LIVING  GODS  235 

street.  We  entered  the  bazaar.  The  whole  market  was 
crowded.  To  the  lively  colored  groups  of  men  buying, 
selling  and  shouting  their  wares,  the  bright  streamers 
of  Chinese  cloth,  the  strings  of  pearls,  the  earrings  and 
bracelets  gave  an  air  of  endless  festivity;  while  on 
another  side  buyers  were  feeling  of  live  sheep  to  see 
whether  they  were  fat  or  not,  the  butcher  was  cutting 
great  pieces  of  mutton  from  the  hanging  carcasses  and 
everywhere  these  sons  of  the  plain  were  joking  and  jest- 
ing. The  Mongolian  women  in  their  huge  coiffures  and 
heavy  silver  caps  like  saucers  on  their  heads  were  admir- 
ing the  variegated  silk  ribbons  and  long  chains  of  coral 
beads;  an  imposing  big  Mongol  attentively  examined  a 
small  herd  of  splendid  horses  and  bargained  with  the 
Mongol  zafiachine  or  owner  of  the  horses;  a  skinny, 
quick,  black  Tibetan,  who  had  come  to  Urga  to  pray  to 
the  Living  Buddha  or,  maybe,  with  a  secret  message  from 
the  other  "God"  in  Lhasa,  squatted  and  bargained  for 
an  image  of  the  Lotus  Buddha  carved  in  agate ;  in  another 
comer  a  big  crowd  of  Mongols  and  Buriats  had  collected 
and  surrounded  a  Chinese  merchant  selling  finely  painted 
snuff-bottles  of  glass,  crystal,  porcelain,  amethyst,  jade, 
agate  and  nephrite,  for  one  of  which  made  of  a  greenish 
milky  nephrite  with  regular  brown  veins  running  through 
it  and  carved  with  a  dragon  winding  itself  around  a  bevy 
of  young  damsels  the  merchant  was  demanding  of  his 
Mongol  inquirers  ten  young  oxen;  and  everywhere 
Buriats  in  their  long  red  coats  and  small  red  caps  em- 
broidered with  gold  helped  the  Tartars  in  black  over- 
coats and  black  velvet  caps  on  the  back  of  their  heads 
to  weave  the  pattern  of  this  Oriental  human  tapestry. 
Lamas  formed  the  common  background  for  it  all,  as  they 


236  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

wandered  about  In  their  yellow  and  red  robes,  with  capes 
picturesquely  thrown  over  their  shoulders  and  caps  of 
many  forms,  some  like  yellow  mushrooms,  others  like  the 
red  Phrygian  bonnets  or  old  Greek  helmets  in  red.  They 
mingled  with  the  crowd,  chatting  serenely  and  counting 
their  rosaries,  telling  fortunes  for  those  who  would  hear 
but  chiefly  searching  out  the  rich  Mongols  whom  they 
could  cure  or  exploit  by  fortune  telling,  predictions  or 
other  mysteries  of  a  city  of  60,000  Lamas.  Simultane- 
ously religious  and  political  espionage  was  being  carried 
out.  Just  at  this  time  many  Mongols  were  arriving  from 
Inner  Mongolia  and  they  were  continuously  surrounded 
by  an  invisible  but  numerous  network  of  watching  Lamas. 
Over  the  buildings  around  floated  the  Russian,  Chinese 
and  Mongolian  national  flags  with  a  single  one  of  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  above  a  small  shop  in  the  market ;  while 
over  the  nearby  tents  and  yurtas  streamed  the  ribbons, 
the  squares,  the  circles  and  triangles  of  the  princes  and 
private  persons  afflicted  or  dying  from  smallpox  and 
leprosy.  All  were  mingled  and  mixed  in  one  bright  mass 
strongly  lighted  by  the  sun.  Occasionally  one  saw  the 
soldiers  of  Baron  Ungern  rushing  about  in  long  blue 
coats;  Mongols  and  Tibetans  in  red  coats  with  yellow 
epaulets  bearing  the  swastika  of  Jenghiz  Khan  and  the 
initials  of  the  Living  Buddha ;  and  Chinese  soldiers  from 
their  detachment  in  the  Mongolian  army.  After  the  de- 
feat of  the  Chinese  army  two  thousand  of  these  braves 
petitioned  the  Living  Buddha  to  enlist  them  in  his  legions, 
swearing  fealty  and  faith  to  him.  They  were  accepted 
and  formed  into  two  regiments  bearing  the  old  Chinese 
silver  dragons  on  their  caps  and  shoulders. 

As  we  crossed  this  market,  from  around  a  corner  came 


IN  THE  CITY  OF  LIVING  GODS  237 

a  big  motor  car  with  the  roar  of  a  siren.  There  was 
Baron  Ungern  in  the  yellow  silk  Mongolian  cokt  with  a 
blue  girdle.  He  was  going  very  fast  but  recognized  me 
at  once,  stopping  and  getting  out  to  invite  me  to  go  with 
him  to  his  yurta.  The  Baron  lived  in  a  small,  simply 
arranged  yurta,  set  up  in  the  courtyard  of  a  Chinese 
hong.  He  had  his  headquarters  in  two  other  yurtas 
nearby,  while  his  servants  occupied  one  of  the  Chinese 
fang-tzu.  When  I  reminded  him  of  his  promise  to  help 
me  to  reach  the  open  ports,  the  General  looked  at  me 
with  his  bright  eyes  and  spoke  in  French: 

"My  work  here  is  coming  to  an  end.  In  nine  days  I 
shall  begin  the  war  with  the  Bolsheviki  and  shall  go  into 
the  Transbaikal.  I  beg  that  you  will  spend  this  time 
here.  For  many  years  I  have  lived  without  civilized 
society.  I  am  alone  with  my  thoughts  and  I  would  like 
to  have  you  know  them,  speaking  with  me  not  as  the 
'bloody  mad  Baron,'  as  my  enemies  call  me,  nor  as  the 
'severe  grandfather,'  which  my  officers  and  soldiers  call 
me,  but  as  an  ordinary  man  who  has  sought  much  and 
has  suffered  even  more." 

The  Baron  reflected  for  some  minutes  and  then  con- 
tinued : 

*T  have  thought  about  the  further  trip  of  your  group 
and  I  shall  arrange  everything  for  you,  but  I  ask  you 
to  remain  here  these  nine  days." 

What  was  I  to  do?  I  agreed.  The  Baron  shook  my 
hand  warmly  and  ordered  tea. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 
A  SON  OF  CRUSADERS  AND  PRIVATEERS 

**np  ELL  me  about  yourself  and  your  trip,"  he  urged. 

-*•  In  response  I  related  all  that  I  thought  would 
interest  him  and  he  appeared  quite  excited  over  my  tale. 

"Now  I  shall  tell  you  about  myself,  who  and  what  I 
am!  My  name  is  surrounded  with  such  hate  and  fear 
that  no  one  can  judge  what  is  the  truth  and  what  is  false, 
what  is  history  and  what  myth.  Some  time  you  will 
write  about  it,  remembering  your  trip  through  Mongolia 
and  your  sojourn  at  the  ytirta  of  the  'bloody  General.'  " 

He  shut  his  eyes,  smoking  as  he  spoke,  and  tumbling 
out  his  sentences  without  finishing  them  as  though  some 
one  would  prevent  him  from  phrasing  them. 

"The  family  of  Ungern  von  Sternberg  is  an  old  fam- 
ily, a  mixture  of  Germans  with  Hungarians — Huns  from 
the  time  of  Attila.  My  warlike  ancestors  took  part  in  afl 
the  European  struggles.  They  participated  in  the  Cru- 
sades and  one  Ungern  was  killed  under  the  walls  of 
Jerusalem,  fighting  under  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion.  Even 
the  tragic  Crusade  of  the  Children  was  marked  by  the 
death  of  Ralph  Ungern,  eleven  years  old.  When  the 
boldest  warriors  of  the  country  were  despatched  to  the 
eastern  border  of  the  German  Empire  against  the  Slavs 
in  the  twelfth  century,  my  ancestor  Arthur  was  among 
them,  Baron  Halsa  Ungern  Sternberg.     Here  these  bor- 

238 


A  SON  OF  CRUSADERS  239 

der  knights  formed  the  order  of  Monk  Knights  or  Teu- 
tons, which  with  fire  and  sword  spread  Christianity  among 
the  pagan  Lithuanians,  Esthonians,  Latvians  and  Slavs. 
Since  then  the  Teuton  Order  of  Knights  has  always  had 
among  its  members  representatives  of  our  family.  When 
the  Teuton  Order  perished  in  the  Griinwald  under  the 
swords  of  the  Polish  and  Lithuanian  troops,  two  Barons 
Ungern  von  Sternberg  were  killed  there.  Our  family 
was  warlike  and  given  to  mysticism  and  asceticism. 

"During  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  several 
Barons  von  Ungern  had  their  castles  in  the  lands  of 
Latvia  and  Esthonia.  Many  legends  and  tales  lived  after 
them.  Heinrich  Ungern  von  Sternberg,  called  *Ax,'  was 
a  wandering  knight.  The  tournaments  of  France,  Eng- 
land, Spain  and  Italy  knew  his  name  and  lance,  which 
filled  the  hearts  of  his  opponents  with  fear.  He  fell  at 
Cadiz  'neath  the  sword  of  a  knight  who  cleft  both  his 
helmet  and  his  skull.  Baron  Ralph  Ungern  was  a  brigand 
knight  between  Riga  and  Reval.  Baron  Peter  Ungern 
had  his  castle  on  the  island  of  Dago  in  the  Baltic  Sea, 
where  as  a  privateer  he  ruled  the  merchantmen  of  his  day. 

"In  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  there  was 
also  a  well-known  Baron  Wilhelm  Ungern,  who  was  re- 
ferred to  as  the  'brother  of  Satan'  because  he  was  an 
alchemist.  My  grandfather  was  a  privateer  in  the  Indian 
Ocean,  taking  his  tribute  from  the  English  traders  whose 
warships  could  not  catch  him  for  several  years.  At  last 
he  was  captured  and  handed  to  the  Russian  Consul,  who 
transported  him  to  Russia  where  he  was  sentenced  to 
deportation  to  the  Transbaikal.  I  am  also  a  naval  officer 
but  the  Russo-Japanese  War  forced  me  to  leave  my  reg- 
ular profession  to  join  and  fight  with  the  Zabaikal  Cos- 


240  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

sacks.  I  have  spent  all  my  life  in  war  or  in  the  study 
and  learning  of  Buddhism.  My  grandfather  brought 
Buddhism  to  us  from  India  and  my  father  and  I  ac- 
cepted and  professed  it.  In  Transbaikalia  I  tried  to  form 
the  order  of  Military  Buddhists  for  an  uncompromising 
fight  against  the  depravity  of  revolution." 

He  fell  into  silence  and  began  drinking  cup  after  cup 
of  tea  as  strong  and  black  as  coffee. 

"Depravity  of  revolution ! .  .  .  Has  anyone  ever  thought 
of  it  besides  the  French  philosopher,  Bergson,  and  the 
most  learned  Tashi  Lama  in  Tibet?" 

The  grandson  of  the  privateer,  quoting  scientific  theo- 
ries, works,  the  names  of  scientists  and  writers,  the  Holy 
Bible  and  Buddhist  books,  mixing  together  French,  Ger- 
man, Russian  and  English,  continued: 

"In  the  Buddhistic  and  ancient  Christian  books  we 
read  stern  predictions  about  the  time  when  the  war  be- 
tween the  good  and  evil  spirits  must  begin.  Then  there 
must  come  the  unknown  'Curse'  which  will  conquer  the 
world,  blot  out  culture,  kill  morality  and  destroy  all  the 
people.  Its  weapon  is  revolution.  During  every  revo- 
lution the  previously  experienced  intellect-creator  will 
be  replaced  by  the  new  rough  force  of  the  destroyer.  He 
will  place  and  hold  in  the  first  rank  the  lower  instincts 
and  desires.  Man  will  be  farther  removed  from  the 
divine  and  the  spiritual.  The  Great  War  proved  that 
humanity  must  progress  upward  toward  higher  ideals; 
but  then  appeared  that  Curse  which  was  seen  and  felt 
by  Christ,  the  Apostle  John,  Buddha,  the  first  Christian 
martyrs,  Dante,  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Goethe  and  Do- 
stoyevsky.  It  appeared,  turned  back  the  wheel  of  prog- 
ress and  blocked  our  road  to  the  Divinity.     Revolution  is 


A  SON  OF  CRUSADERS  241 

an  infectious  disease  and  Europe  making  the  treaty  with 
Moscow  deceived  itself  and  the  other  parts  of  the  world. 
The  Great  Spirit  put  at  the  threshold  of  our  lives  Karma, 
who  knows  neither  anger  nor  pardon.  He  will  reckon 
the  account,  whose  total  will  be  famine,  destruction,  the 
death  of  culture,  of  glory,  of  honor  and  of  spirit,  the 
death  of  states  and  the  death  of  peoples.  I  see  already 
this  horror,  this  dark,  mad  destruction  of  humanity." 

The  door  of  the  yurta  suddenly  swung  open  and  an 
adjutant  snapped  into  a  position  of  attention  and  salute. 
"Why  do  you  enter  a  room  by  force?"  the  General 
exclaimed  in  anger. 

"Your  Excellency,  our  outpost  on  the  border  has 
caught  a  Bolshevik  reconnaissance  party  and  brought 
them  here." 

The  Baron  arose.  His  eyes  sparkled  and  his  face  con- 
tracted with  spasms. 

"Bring  them  in  front  of  my  yurta!"  he  ordered. 
All  was  forgotten — the  inspired  speech,  the  penetrat- 
ing voice — all  were  sunk  in  the  austere  order  of  the 
severe  commander.  The  Baron  put  on  his  cap,  caught  up 
the  bamboo  tashur  which  he  always  carried  with  him  and 
rushed  from  the  yurta.  I  followed  him  out.  There 
in  front  of  the  yurta  stood  six  Red  soldiers  surrounded 
by  the  Cossacks. 

The  Baron  stopped  and  glared  sharply  at  them  for 
several  minutes.  In  his  face  one  could  see  the  strong 
play  of  his  thoughts.  Afterwards  he  turned  away  from 
them,  sat  down  on  the  doorstep  of  the  Chinese  house 
and  for  a  long  time  was  buried  in  thought.  Then  he 
rose,  walked  over  to  them  and,  with  an  evident  show  of 
decisiveness  in  his  movements,  touched  all  the  prisoners 


242  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

on  tlie  shoulder  with  his  tashur  and  said :  "You  to  the 
left  and  you  to  the  right!"  as  he  divided  the  squad  into 
two  sections,  four  on  the  right  and  two  on  the  left. 

"Search  those  two !  They  must  be  commissars !"  com- 
manded the  Baron  and,  turning  to  the  other  four,  asked: 
"Are  you  peasants  mobilized  by  the  Bolsheviki?" 

"Just  so,  Your  Excellency!"  cried  the  frightened  sol- 
diers, 

"Go  to  the  Commandant  and  tell  him  that  I  have 
ordered  you  to  be  enlisted  in  my  troops !" 

On  the  two  to  the  left  they  found  passports  of  Com- 
missars of  the  Communist  Political  Department.  The 
General  knitted  his  brows  and  slowly  pronounced  the 
following: 

"Beat  them  to  death  with  sticks!" 

He  turned  and  entered  the  yurta.  After  this  our  con- 
versation did  not  flow  readily  and  so  I  left  the  Baron 
to  himself. 

After  dinner  in  the  Russian  firm  where  I  was  staying 
some  of  Ungern's  officers  came  in.  We  were  chatting 
animatedly  when  suddenly  we  heard  the  horn  of  an 
automobile,  which  instantly  threw  the  officers  into 
silence. 

"The  General  is  passing  somewhere  near,'*  one  of 
them  remarked  in  a  strangely  altered  voice. 

Our  interrupted  conversation  was  soon  resumed  but 
not  for  long.  The  clerk  of  the  firm  came  running  into 
the  room  and  exclaimed :    "The  Baron !" 

He  entered  the  door  but  stopped  on  the  threshold. 
The  lamps  had  not  yet  been  lighted  and  it  was  getting 
dark  inside,  but  the  Baron  instantly  recognized  us  all, 
approached  and  kissed  the  hand  of  the  hostess,  greeted 


A  SON  OF  CRUSADERS  243 

everyone  very  cordially  and,  accepting  the  cup  of  tea 
offered  him,  drew  up  to  the  table  to  drink.  Soon  he 
spoke : 

"I  want  to  steal  your  guest,"  he  said  to  the  hostess  and 
then,  turning  to  me,  asked:  "Do  you  want  to  go  for  a 
motor  ride?    I  shall  show  you  the  city  and  the  environs.'* 

Donning  my  coat,  I  followed  my  established  custom 
and  slipped  my  revolver  into  it,  at  which  the  Baron 
laughed. 

"Leave  that  trash  behind!  Here  you  are  in  safety. 
Besides  you  must  remember  the  prediction  of  Nara- 
banchi  Hutuktu  that  Fortune  will  ever  be  with  you." 

"All  right,"  I  answered,  also  with  a  laugh.  "I  re- 
member very  well  this  prediction.  Only  I  do  not  know 
what  the  Hutuktu  thinks  'Fortune'  means  for  me. 
Maybe  it  is  death  like  the  rest  after  my  hard,  long  trip, 
and  I  must  confess  that  I  prefer  to  travel  farther  and 
am  not  ready  to  die." 

We  went  out  to  the  gate  where  the  big  Fiat  stood 
with  its  intruding  great  lights.  The  chauffeur  officer 
sat  at  the  wheel  like  a  statue  and  remained  at  salute  all 
the  time  we  were  entering  and  seating  ourselves. 

"To  the  wireless  station!"  commanded  tlie  Baron. 

We  veritably  leapt  forward.  The  city  swarmed,  as 
earlier,  with  the  Oriental  throng,  but  its  appearance  now 
was  even  more  strange  and  miraculous.  In  among  the 
noisy  crowd  Mongol,  Buriat  and  Tibetan  riders  threaded 
swiftly;  caravans  of  camels  solemnly  raised  their  heads 
as  we  passed;  the  wooden  wheels  of  the  Mongol  carts 
screamed  in  pain;  and  all  was  illumined  by  splendid 
great  arc  lights  from  the  electric  station  which  Baron 
Ungern  had  ordered  erected  immediately  after  the  cap- 


244  BEASTS.   MEN  AND  GODS 

ture  of  Urga,  together  with  a  telephone  system  and 
wireless  station.  He  also  ordered  his  men  to  clean  and 
disinfect  the  city  which  had  probably  not  felt  the  broom 
since  the  days  of  Jenghiz  Khan.  He  arranged  an  auto- 
bus traffic  between  different  parts  of  the  city;  built 
bridges  over  the  Tola  and  Orkhon;  published  a  news- 
paper; arranged  a  veterinary  laboratory  and  hospitals; 
re-opened  the  schools;  protected  commerce,  mercilessly 
hanging  Russian  and  Mongolian  soldiers  for  pillaging 
Chinese  firms. 

In  one  of  these  cases  his  Commandant  arrested  two 
Cossacks  and  a  Mongol  soldier  who  had  stolen  brandy 
from  one  of  the  Chinese  shops  and  brought  them  before 
him.  He  immediately  bundled  them  all  into  his  car, 
drove  off  to  the  shop,  delivered  the  brandy  back  to  the 
proprietor  and  as  promptly  ordered  the  Mongol  to  hang 
one  of  the  Russians  to  the  big  gate  of  the  compound. 
With  this  one  swung  he  commanded:  "Now  hang  the 
other!"  and  this  had  only  just  been  accomplished  when 
he  turned  to  the  Commandant  and  ordered  him  to  hang 
the  Mongol  beside  the  other  two.  That  seemed  expedi- 
tious and  just  enough  until  the  Chinese  proprietor  came 
in  dire  distress  to  the  Baron  and  plead  with  him : 

"General  Baron!  General  Baron!  Please  take  those 
men  down  from  my  gateway,  for  no  one  will  enter  my 
shop!" 

After  the  commercial  quarter  was  flashed  past  our 
eyes,  we  entered  the  Russian  settlement  across  a  small 
river.  Several  Russian  soldiers  and  four  very  spruce- 
looking  Mongolian  women  stood  on  the  bridge  as  we 
passed.  The  soldiers  snapped  to  salute  like  immobile 
statues  and  fixed  their  eyes  on  the  severe  face  of  their 


A  SON  OF  CRUSADERS  24S 

Commander.  The  women  first  began  to  run  and  shift 
about  and  then,  infected  by  the  discipline  and  order  of 
events,  swung  their  hands  up  to  salute  and  stood  as  im- 
mobile as  their  northern  swains.  The  Baron  looked  at 
me  and  laughed: 

"You  see  the  discipline !  Even  the  Mongolian  women 
salute  me." 

Soon  we  were  out  on  the  plain  with  the  car  going  like 
an  arrow,  with  the  wind  whistling  and  tossing  the  folds 
of  our  coats  and  caps.  But  Baron  Ungern,  sitting  with 
closed  eyes,  repeated:  "Faster!  Faster!"  For  a  long 
time  we  were  both  silent. 

"And  yesterday  I  beat  my  adjutant  for  rushing  into 
my  yurta  and  interrupting  my  story,"  he  said. 

"You  can  finish  it  now,"  I  answered. 

"And  are  you  not  bored  by  it  ?  Well,  there  isn't  much 
left  and  this  happens  to  be  the  most  interesting.  I  was 
telling  you  that  I  wanted  to  found  an  order  of  military 
Buddhists  in  Russia,  For  what?  For  the  protection  of 
the  processes  of  evolution  of  humanity  and  for  the  strug- 
gle against  revolution,  because  I  am  certain  that  evolu- 
tion leads  to  the  Divinity  and  revolution  to  bestiality. 
But  I  worked  in  Russia !  In  Russia,  where  the  peasants 
are  rough,  untutored,  wild  and  constantly  angry,  hating 
everybody  and  everything  without  understanding  why. 
They  are  suspicious  and  materialistic,  having  no  sacred 
ideals.  Russian  intelligents  live  among  imaginary  ideals 
without  realities.  They  have  a  strong  capacity  for  crit- 
icising everything  but  they  lack  creative  power.  Also 
they  have  no  will  power,  only  the  capacity  for  talking 
and  talking.  With  the  peasants,  they  cannot  like  any- 
thing or  anybody.    Their  love  and  feelings  are  imaginar)'. 


246  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

Their  thoughts  and  sentiments  pass  without  trace  Hke 
futile  words.  My  companions,  therefore,  soon  began 
to  violate  the  regulations  of  the  Order.  Then  I  intro- 
duced the  condition  of  celibacy,  the  entire  negation  of 
woman,  of  the  comforts  of  life,  of  superfluities,  accord- 
ing to  the  teachings  of  the  Yellow  Faith;  and,  in  order 
that  the  Russian  might  be  able  to  live  down  his  physical 
nature,  I  introduced  the  limitless  use  of  alcohol,  hasheesh 
and  opium.  Now  for  alcohol  I  hang  my  officers  and 
soldiers;  then  we  drank  tc  the  'white  fever,'  delirium 
tremens.  I  could  not  organize  the  Order  but  I  gathered 
round  me  and  developed  three  hundred  men  wholly  bold 
and  entirely  ferocious.  Afterward  they  were  heroes 
in  the  war  with  Germany  and  later  in  the  fight  against 
the  Bolsheviki,  but  now  only  a  few  remain." 

''The  wireless,  Excellency!"  reported  the  chauffeur. 

"Turn  in  there!"  ordered  the  General. 

On  the  top  of  a  flat  hill  stood  the  big,  powerful  radio 
station  which  had  been  partially  destroyed  by  the  re- 
treating Chinese  but  reconstructed  by  the  engineers  of 
Baron  Ungern.  The  General  perused  the  telegrams  and 
handed  them  to  me.  They  were  from  Moscow,  Chita, 
Vladivostok  and  Peking.  On  a  separate  yellow  sheet 
were  the  code  messages,  which  the  Baron  slipped  into  his 
pocket  as  he  said  to  me: 

"They  are  from  my  agents,  who  are  stationed  in  Chita, 
Irkutsk,  Harbin  and  Vladivostok.  They  are  all  Jews, 
very  skilled  and  very  bold  men,  friends  of  mine  all.  I 
have  also  one  Jewish  officer,  Vulfovitch,  who  commands 
my  right  flank.  He  is  as  ferocious  as  Satan  but  clever 
and  brave.  .  .  .  Now  we  shall  fly  into  space." 

Once  more  we  rushed  away,  sinking  into  the  darkness 


A  SON  OF  CRUSADERS  247 

of  night.  It  was  a  wild  ride.  The  car  bounded  over 
small  stones  and  ditches,  even  taking  narrow  streamlets, 
as  the  skilled  chauffeur  only  seemed  to  guide  it  round  the 
larger  rocks.  On  the  plain,  as  we  sped  by,  I  noticed 
several  times  small  bright  flashes  of  fire  which  lasted  but 
for  a  second  and  then  were  extinguished. 

"The  eyes  of  wolves,"  smiled  my  companion.  "We 
have  fed  them  to  satiety  from  the  flesh  of  ourselves  and 
our  enemies!"  he  quietly  interpolated,  as  he  turned  to 
continue  his  confession  of  faith. 

"During  the  War  we  saw  the  gradual  corruption  of 
the  Russian  army  and  foresaw  the  treachery  of  Russia 
to  the  Allies  as  well  as  the  approaching  danger  of  revo- 
lution. To  counteract  this  latter  a  plan  was  formed  to 
join  together  all  the  Mongolian  peoples  which  had  not 
forgotten  their  ancient  faiths  and  customs  into  one 
Asiatic  State,  consisting  of  autonomous  tribal  units, 
under  the  moral  and  legislative  leadership  of  China,  the 
country  of  loftiest  and  most  ancient  culture.  Into  this 
State  must  come  the  Chinese,  Mongols,  Tibetans,  Af- 
ghans, the  Mongol  tribes  of  Turkestan,  Tartars,  Buriats, 
Kirghiz  and  Kalmucks.  This  State  must  be  strong, 
physically  and  morally,  and  must  erect  a  barrier  against 
revolution  and  carefully  preserve  its  own  spirit,  philos- 
ophy and  individual  policy.  If  humanity,  mad  and  cor- 
rupted, continues  to  threaten  the  Divine  Spirit  in  man- 
kind, to  spread  blood  and  to  obstruct  moral  development, 
the  Asiatic  State  must  terminate  this  movement  de- 
cisively and  establish  a  permanent,  firm  peace.  This 
propaganda  even  during  the  War  made  splendid  progress 
among  the  Turkomans,  Kirghiz,  Buriats  and  Mongols. 
.  .  .  Stop!"  suddenly  shouted  the  Baron. 


248  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

The  car  pulled  up  with  a  jerk.  The  General  jumped 
out  and  called  me  to  follow.  We  started  walking  over 
the  prairie  and  the  Baron  kept  bending  down  all  the  time 
as  though  he  were  looking  for  something  on  the  ground. 

"Ah !"  he  murmured  at  last,  "He  has  gone  away.  .  .  ." 

I  looked  at  him  in  amazement. 

"A  rich  Mongol  formerly  had  his  yuvia  here.  He  was 
the  outfitter  for  the  Russian  merchant,  Noskoff.  Nos- 
koff  was  a  ferocious  man  as  shown  by  the  name  the 
Mongols  gave  him — 'Satan.'  He  used  to  have  his 
Mongol  debtors  beaten  or  imprisoned  through  the  in- 
strumentality of  the  Chinese  authorities.  He  ruined  this 
Mongol,  who  lost  everything  and  escaped  to  a  place  thirty 
miles  away;  but  Noskoff  found  him  there,  took  all  that 
he  had  left  of  cattle  and  horses  and  left  the  Mongol  and 
his  family  to  die  of  hunger.  When  I  captured  Urga, 
this  Mongol  appeared  and  brought  with  him  thirty  other 
Mongol  families  similarly  ruined  by  Noskoff.  They 
demanded  his  death.  ...  So  I  hung  'Satan'  .  .  ." 

Anew  the  motor  car  was  rushing  along,  sweeping  a 
great  circle  on  the  prairie,  and  anew  Baron  Ungern  with 
his  sharp,  nervous  voice  carried  his  thoughts  round  the 
whole  circumference  of  Asian  life. 

"Russia  turned  traitor  to  France,  England  and  Amer- 
ica, signed  the  Brest-Litovsk  Treaty  and  ushered  in  a 
reign  of  chaos.  We  then  decided  to  mobilize  Asia 
against  Germany.  Our  envoys  penetrated  Mongolia, 
Tibet,  Turkestan  and  China.  At  this  time  the  Bolshevik! 
began  to  kill  all  the  Russian  officers  and  we  were  forced 
to  open  civil  war  against  thern,  giving  up  our  Pan- 
Asiatic  plans;  but  we  hope  later  to  awake  all  Asia  and 
with  their  help  to  bring  peace  and  God  back  to  earth.     I 


A  SON  OF  CRUSADERS  249 

want  to  feel  that  I  have  helped  this  idea  by  the  libera- 
tion of  Mongolia." 

He  became  silent  and  thought  for  a  moment. 

"But  some  of  my  associates  in  the  movement  do  not 
like  me  because  of  my  atrocities  and  severity,"  he  re- 
marked in  a  sad  voice.  "They  cannot  understand  as 
yet  that  we  are  not  fighting  a  political  party  but  a  sect 
of  murderers  of  all  contemporary  spiritual  culture.  Why 
do  the  Italians  execute  the  'Black  Hand'  gang?  Why 
are  the  Americans  electrocuting  anarchistic  bomb  throw- 
ers? and  I  am  not  allowed  to  rid  the  world  of  those  who 
would  kill  the  soul  of  the  people?  I,  a  Teuton,  descend- 
ant of  crusaders  and  privateers,  I  recognize  only  death 
for  murderers !  .  .  .  Return!"  he  commanded  the  chauf- 
feur. 

An  hour  and  a  half  later  we  saw  the  electric  lights 
of  Urga. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 
THE  CAMP  OF  MARTYRS 

NEAR  the  entrance  to  the  town,  a  motor  car  stood 
before  a  small  house. 

"What  does  that  mean?"  exclaimed  the  Baron.  "Go 
over  there!" 

Our  car  drew  up  beside  the  other.  The  house  door 
opened  sharply,  several  officers  rushed  out  and  tried  to 
hide. 

"Stand !"  commanded  the  General.    "Go  back  inside." 

They  obeyed  and  he  entered  after  them,  leaning  on  his 
tashur.  As  the  door  remained  open,  I  could  see  and 
hear  everything. 

"Woe  to  them!"  whispered  the  chauffeur.  "Our  of- 
ficers knew  that  the  Baron  had  gone  out  of  the  town  with 
me,  which  means  always  a  long  journey,  and  must  have 
decided  to  have  a  good  time.  He  will  order  them  beaten 
to  death  with  sticks." 

I  could  see  the  end  of  the  table  covered  with  bottles 
and  tinned  things.  At  the  side  two  young  women  were 
seated,  who  sprang  up  at  the  appearance  of  the  General. 
I  could  hear  the  hoarse  voice  of  Baron  Ungern  pro- 
nouncing sharp,  short,  stern  phrases. 

"Your  native  land  is  perishing.  .  .  .  The  shame  of  it 
is  upon  all  you  Russians  .  .  ,  and  you  cannot  under- 
stand   it  .  .  .  nor    feel    it.  .  .  .  You    need    wine    and 

250 


THE  CAMP  OF  MARTYRS  251 

women.  .  .  .  Scoundrels!  Brutes!  .  .  .  One  hundred 
fifty  tashur  for  every  man  of  you." 

The  voice  fell  to  a  whisper. 

"And  you,  Mesdames,  do  you  not  realize  the  ruin 
of  your  people?  No?  For  you  it  is  of  no  moment. 
And  have  you  no  feeling  for  your  husbands  at  the  front 
who  may  even  now  be  killed  ?  You  are  not  women.  .  .  - 
I  honor  woman,  who  feels  more  deeply  and  strongly  than 
man ;  but  you  are  not  women !  .  .  .  Listen  to  me,  Mes- 
dames.   Once  more  and  I  will  hang  you.  .  .  ." 

He  came  back  to  the  car  and  himself  sounded  the  horn 
several  times.  Immediately  Mongol  horsemen  galloped 
up. 

"Take  these  men  to  the  Commandant.  I  will  send 
my  orders  later." 

On  the  way  to  the  Baron's  yurta  we  were  silent.  He 
was  excited  and  breathed  heavily,  lighting  cigarette  after 
cigarette  and  throwing  them  aside  after  but  a  single 
puff  or  two. 

"Take  supper  with  me,"  he  proposed. 

He  also  invited  his  Chief  of  Staff,  a  very  retiring, 
oppressed  but  splendidly  educated  man.  The  servants 
spread  a  Chinese  hot  course  for  us  followed  by  cold 
meat  and  fruit  compote  from  California  with  the  inevit- 
able tea.  We  ate  with  chopsticks.  The  Baron  was 
greatly  distraught. 

Very  cautiously  I  began  speaking  of  the  offending 
officers  and  tried  to  justify  their  actions  by  the  extremely 
trying  circumstances  under  which  they  were  living. 

"They  are  rotten  through  and  through,  demoralized, 
sunk  into  the  depths,"  murmured  the  General. 

The  Chief  of  Staff  helped  me  out  and  at  last  the  Baron 


252  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

directed  him  to  telephone  the  Commandant  to  release 
these  gentlemen. 

The  following  day  I  spent  with  my  friends,  walking 
a  great  deal  about  the  streets  and  watching  their  busy 
life.  The  great  energy  of  the  Baron  demanded  constant 
nervous  activity  from  himself  and  every  one  round  him. 
He  was  everywhere,  seeing  everything  but  never  inter- 
fering with  the  work  of  his  subordinate  administrators. 
Every  one  was  at  work. 

In  the  evening  I  was  invited  by  the  Chief  of  Staff  to 
his  quarters,  where  I  met  many  intelligent  officers.  I 
related  again  the  story  of  my  trip  and  we  were  all  chat- 
ting along  animatedly  when  suddenly  Colonel  Sepailoff 
entered,  singing  to  himself.  All  the  others  at  once  be- 
came silent  and  one  by  one  under  various  pretexts  they 
slipped  out.  He  handed  our  host  some  papers  and,  turn- 
ing to  us,  said: 

"I  shall  send  you  for  supper  a  splendid  fish  pie  and 
some  hot  tomato  soup." 

As  he  left,  my  host  clasped  his  head  in  desperation 
and  said : 

"With  such  scum  of  the  earth  are  we  now  forced  after 
this  revolution  to  work!" 

A  few  minutes  later  a  soldier  from  Sepailofif  brought 
us  a  tureen  full  of  soup  and  the  fish  pie.  As  the  soldier 
bent  over  the  table  to  set  the  dishes  down,  the  Chief 
motioned  me  with  his  eyes  and  slipped  to  me  the  words: 
"Notice  his  face." 

When  the  man  went  out,  my  host  sat  attentively  listen- 
ing until  the  sounds  of  the  man's  steps  ceased. 

"He  is  Sepailoff's  executioner  who  hangs  and  strangles 
the  unfortunate  condemned  ones." 


THE  CAMP  OF  MARTYRS  253 

Then,  to  my  amazement,  he  began  to  pour  out  the 
soup  on  the  ground  beside  the  brazier  and,  going  out  of 
the  yurta,  threw  the  pie  over  the  fence. 

"It  is  Sepailoff's  feast  and,  though  it  may  be  very 
tasty,  it  may  also  be  poison.  In  Sepailoff's  house  it  is 
dangerous  to  eat  or  drink  anything." 

Distinctly  oppressed  by  these  doings,  I  returned  to  my 
house.  My  host  was  not  yet  asleep  and  met  me  with  a 
frightened  look.     My  friends  were  also  there. 

"God  be  thanked !"  they  all  exclaimed.  "Has  nothing 
happened  to  you?" 

"What  is  the  matter?"  I  asked. 

"You  see,"  began  the  host,  "after  your  departure  a 
soldier  came  from  Sepailoff  and  took  your  luggage,  say- 
ing that  you  had  sent  him  for  it;  but  we  knew  what  it 
meant — that  they  would  first  search  it  and  after- 
wards. ..." 

I  at  once  understood  the  danger.  SepailoflF  could 
place  anything  he  wanted  in  my  luggage  and  afterwards 
accuse  me.  My  old  friend,  the  agronome,  and  I  started 
at  once  for  Sepailoff's,  where  I  left  him  at  the  door 
while  I  went  in  and  was  met  by  the  same  soldier  who 
had  brought  the  supper  to  us.  Sepailoff  received  me  im- 
mediately. In  answer  to  my  protest  he  said  tiiat  it  was 
a  mistake  and,  asking  me  to  wait  for  a  moment,  went 
out.  I  waited  five,  ten,  fifteen  minutes  but  nobody  came. 
I  knocked  on  the  door  but  no  one  answered  me.  Then 
I  decided  to  go  to  Baron  Ungem  and  started  for  the 
exit.  The  door  was  locked.  Then  I  tried  the  other 
door  and  found  that  also  locked.  I  had  been  trapped ! 
I  wanted  at  once  to  whistle  to  my  friend  but  just  then 
noticed  a  telephone  on  the  wall   and   called  up   Baron 


254  BEASTS,    MEN  AND   GODS 

Ungern.  In  a  few  minutes  he  appeared  together  with 
Sepailoff. 

"What  is  this?"  he  asked  Sepailoff  in  a  severe, 
threatening  voice;  and,  without  waiting  for  an  answer, 
struck  him  a  blow  with  his  tashur  that  sent  him  to  the 
floor. 

We  Avent  out  and  the  General  ordered  my  luggage  pro- 
duced.    Then  he  brought  me  to  his  own  yurta. 

"Live  here,  now,"  he  said.  "I  am  very  glad  of  this 
accident,"  he  remarked  with  a  smile,  "for  now  I  can  say 
all  that  I  want  to." 

This  drew  from  me  the  question: 

"May  I  describe  all  that  I  have  heard  and  seen  here?" 

He  thought  a  moment  before  replying:  "Gi\e  me  your 
notebook." 

I  handed  him  the  album  with  my  sketches  of  the  trip 
and  he  wrote  therein:  "After  my  death,  Baron  Ungern." 

"But  I  am  older  than  you  and  I  shall  die  before  you," 
I  remarked. 

He  shut  his  eyes,  bowed  his  head  and  whispered: 

"Oh,  no!  One  hundred  thirty  days  yet  and  it  is 
finished ;  then  .  .  .  Nirvana!  How  wearied  I  am  with  sor- 
row, woe  and  hate !" 

We  were  silent  for  a  long  time.  I  felt  that  I  had  now 
a  mortal  enemy  in  Colonel  Sepailoff  and  that  I  should 
get  out  of  Urga  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  It  was 
two  o'clock  at  night.     Suddenly  Baron  Ungern  stood  up. 

"Let  us  go  to  the  great,  good  Buddha,"  he  said  with 
a  countenance  held  in  deep  thought  and  with  eyes  aflame, 
his  whole  face  contracted  by  a  mournful,  bitter  smile.  He 
ordered  the  car  brought. 

Thus  lived  this  camp  of  martyrs,  refugees  pursued  1)v 


THE  CAMP  OF  MARTYRS  255 

events  to  their  tryst  with  Death,  driven  on  by  the  hate 
and  contempt  of  this  offspring  of  Teutons  and  privateers ! 
And  he,  martyring  them,  knew  neither  day  nor  night  of 
peace.  Fired  by  impelHng,  poisonous  thoughts,  he  tor- 
mented himself  with  the  pains  of  a  Titan,  knowing  that 
every  day  in  this  shortening  chain  of  one  hundred  thirty 
Hnks  brought  him  nearer  to  the  precipice  called  "Death." 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 
BEFORE  THE  FACE  OF  BUDDHA 

AS  we  came  to  the  monastery  we  left  the  automobile 
and  dipped  into  the  labyrinth  of  narrow  alleyways 
until  at  last  we  were  before  the  greatest  temple  of  Urga 
with  the  Tibetan  walls  and  windows  and  its  pretentious 
Chinese  roof.  A  single  lantern  burned  at  the  entrance. 
The  heavy  gate  with  the  bronze  and  iron  trimmings  was 
shut.  When  the  General  struck  the  big  brass  gong  hang- 
ing by  the  gate,  frightened  monks  began  running  up  from 
all  directions  and,  seeing  the  "General  Baron,"  fell  to  the 
earth  in  fear  of  raising  their  heads. 

"Get  up,"  said  the  Baron,  "and  let  us  into  the  Temple !" 
The  inside  was  like  that  of  all  Lama  temples,  the  same 
multi-colored  flags  with  the  prayers,  symbolic  signs  and 
the  images  of  holy  saints;  the  big  bands  of  silk  cloth 
hanging  from  the  ceiling;  the  images  of  the  gods  and 
goddesses.  On  both  sides  of  the  approach  to  the  altar 
were  the  low  red  benches  for  the  Lamas  and  choir.  On 
the  altar  small  lamps  threw  their  rays  on  the  gold  and 
silver  vessels  and  candlesticks.  Behind  it  hung  a  heavy 
yellow  silk  curtain  with  Tibetan  inscriptions.  The  Lamas 
drew  the  curtain  aside.  Out  of  the  dim  light  from  the 
flickering  lamps  gradually  appeared  the  great  gilded 
statue  of  Buddha  seated  in  the  Golden  Lotus.  The  face 
of  the  god  was  indifferent  and  calm  with  only  a  soft 

256 


BEFORE   THE   FACE   OF  BUDDHA  257 

gleam  of  light  animating  it.  On  either  side  he  was 
guarded  by  many  thousands  of  lesser  Buddhas  brought 
by  the  faithful  as  offerings  in  prayer.  The  Baron  struck 
the  gong  to  attract  Great  Buddha's  attention  to  his 
prayer  and  threw  a  handful  of  coins  into  the  large  bronze 
bowl.  And  then  this  scion  of  crusaders  who  had  read 
all  the  philosophers  of  the  West,  closed  his  eyes,  placed 
his  hands  together  before  his  face  and  prayed.  I  noticed 
a  black  rosary  on  his  left  wrist.  He  prayed  about  ten 
minutes.  Afterwards  he  led  me  to  the  other  end  of  the 
monastery  and,  during  our  passage,  said  to  me: 

'T  do  not  like  this  temple.  It  is  new,  erected  by  the 
Lamas  when  the  Living  Buddha  became  blind.  I  do  not 
find  on  the  face  of  the  golden  Buddha  either  tears,  hopes, 
distress  or  thanks  of  the  people.  They  have  not  yet  had 
time  to  leave  these  traces  on  the  face  of  the  god.  We 
shall  go  now  to  the  old  Shrine  of  Prophecies." 

This  was  a  small  building,  blackened  with  age  and  re- 
sembling a  tower  with  a  plain  round  roof.     The  doors 
stood  open.    At  both  sides  of  the  door  were  prayer  wheels 
ready  to  be  spun;  over  it  a  slab  of  copper  with  the  signs 
of  the  zodiac.     Inside  two  monks,  who  were  intoning 
the  sacred  sutras,  did  not  lift  their  eyes  as  we  entered. 
The  General  approached  them  and  said : 
"Cast  the  dice  for  the  number  of  my  days  V 
The  priests  brought  two  bowls  with  many  dice  therein 
and  rolled  them  out  on  their  low  table.    The  Baron  looked 
and  reckoned  with  them  the  sum  before  he  spoke: 
"One  hundred  thirty!    Again  one  hundred  thirty!" 
Approaching  the  altar  carrying  an  ancient  stone  statue 
of  Buddha  brought  all  the  way  from  India,  he  again 
prayed.     As  day  dawned,  we  wandered  out  through  the 


2S8  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

monastery,  visited  all  the  temples  and  shrines,  the  museum 
of  the  medical  school,  the  astrological  tower  and  then  the 
court  where  the  Bandi  and  young  Lamas  have  their  daily 
morning  wrestling  exercises.  In  other  places  the  Lamas 
were  practising  with  the  bow  and  arrow.  Some  of  the 
higher  Lamas  feasted  us  with  hot  mutton,  tea  and  wild 
onions.  After  we  returned  to  the  yurta  I  tried  to  sleep 
but  in  vain.  Too  many  different  questions  were  troubling 
me.  "Where  am  I?  In  what  epoch  am  I  living?"  I 
knew  not  but  I  dimly  felt  the  unseen  touch  of  some  great 
idea,  some  enormous  plan,  some  indescribable  human  woe. 
After  our  noon  meal  the  General  said  he  wanted  to 
introduce  me  to  the  Living  Buddha.  It  is  so  difficult 
to  secure  audience  with  the  Living  Buddha  that  I  was 
very  glad  to  have  this  opportunity  offered  me.  Our  auto 
soon  drew  up  at  the  gate  of  the  red  and  white  striped 
wall  surrounding  the  palace  of  the  god.  Two  hundred 
Lamas  in  yellow  and  red  robes  rushed  to  greet  the  arriv- 
ing "Chiang  Chmi/'  General,  with  the  low-toned,  respect- 
ful whisper  "Khan!  God  of  War!"  As  a  regiment  of 
formal  ushers  they  led  us  to  a  spacious  great  hall  softened 
by  its  semi-darkness.  Heavy  carved  doors  opened  to  the 
interior  parts  of  the  palace.  In  the  depths  of  the  hall 
stood  a  dais  v/ith  the  throne  covered  with  yellow  silk 
cushions.  The  back  of  the  throne  was  red  inside  a  gold 
framing;  at  either  side  stood  yellow  silk  screens  set  in 
highly  ornamented  frames  of  black  Chinese  wood;  while 
against  the  walls  at  either  side  of  the  throne  stood  glass 
cases  filled  with  varied  objects  from  China,  Japan,  India 
and  Russia.  I  noticed  also  among  them  a  pair  of  exquisite 
Marquis  and  Marquises  in  the  fine  porcelain  of  Sevres. 
Before  the  throne  stood  a  long,  low  table  at  which  eight 


BEFORE  THE  FACE  OF  BUDDHA  259 

noble  Mongols  were  seated,  their  chairman,  a  highly  es- 
teemed old  man  with  a  clever,  energetic  face  and  with 
large  penetrating  eyes.  His  appearance  reminded  me 
of  the  authentic  wooden  images  of  the  Buddhist  holy  men 
with  eyes  of  precious  stones  which  I  saw  at  the  Tokyo 
Imperial  Museum  in  the  department  devoted  to  Budd- 
hism, where  the  Japanese  show  the  ancient  statues  of 
Amida,  Daunichi-Buddha,  the  Goddess  Kwannon  and  the 
jolly  old  Hotei. 

This  man  was  the  Hutuktu  Jahantsi,  Chairman  of  the 
Mongolian  Council  of  Ministers,  and  honored  and  re- 
vered far  beyond  the  bournes  of  Mongolia.  The  others 
were  the  Ministers — Khans  and  the  Highest  Princes  of 
Khalkha.  Jahantsi  Hutuktu  invited  Baron  Ungern  to 
the  place  at  his  side,  while  they  brought  in  a  European 
chair  for  me.  Baron  Ungern  announced  to  the  Council 
of  Ministers  through  an  interpreter  that  he  would  leave 
Mongolia  in  a  few  days  and  urged  them  to  protect  the 
freedom  won  for  the  lands  inhabited  by  the  successors 
of  Jenghiz  Khan,  whose  soul  still  lives  and  calls  upon 
the  Mongols  to  become  anew  a  powerful  people  and  re- 
unite again  into  one  great  Mid-Asiatic  State  all  the  Asian 
kingdoms  he  had  ruled. 

The  General  rose  and  all  the  others  followed  him.  He 
took  leave  of  each  one  separately  and  sternly.  Only 
before  Jahantsi  Lama  he  bent  low  while  the  Hutuktu 
placed  his  hands  on  the  Baron's  head  and  blessed  him. 
From  the  Council  Chamber  we  passed  at  once  to  the 
Russian  style  house  which  is  the  personal  dwelling  of  the 
Living  Buddha.  The  house  was  wholly  surrounded  by 
a  crowd  of  red  and  yellow  Lamas;  servants,  councilors 
of  Bogdo,  officials,  fortune  tellers,  doctors  and  favorites. 


26o  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

From  the  front  entrance  stretched  a  long  red  rope  whose 
outer  end  was  thrown  over  the  wall  beside  the  gate. 
Crowds  of  pilgrims  crawling  up  on  their  knees  touch  this 
end  of  the  rope  outside  the  gate  and  hand  the  monk  a 
silken  hatyk  or  a  bit  of  silver.  This  touching  of  the  rope 
whose  inner  end  is  in  the  hand  of  the  Bogdo  establishes 
direct  communication  with  the  holy,  incarnated  Living 
God.  A  current  of  blessing  is  supposed  to  flow  through 
this  cable  of  camel's  wool  and  horse  hair.  Any  Mongol 
who  has  touched  the  mystic  rope  receives  and  wears 
about  his  neck  a  red  band  as  the  sign  of  his  accomplished 
pilgrimage. 

I  had  heard  very  much  about  the  Bogdo  Khan  before 
this  opportunity  to  see  him.  I  had  heard  of  his  love  of 
alcohol,  which  had  brought  on  blindness,  about  his  lean- 
ing toward  exterior  western  culture  and  about  his  wife 
drinking  deep  with  him  and  receiving  in  his  name  numer- 
ous delegations  and  envoys. 

In  the  room  which  the  Bogdo  used  as  his  private  study, 
where  two  Lama  secretaries  watched  day  and  night  over 
the  chest  that  contained  his  great  seals,  there  was  the 
severest  simplicity.  On  a  low,  plain,  Chinese  lacquered 
table  lay  his  writing  implements,  a  case  of  seals  given 
by  the  Chinese  Government  and  by  the  Dalai  Lama  and 
wrapped  in  a  cloth  of  yellow  silk.  Nearby  was  a  low 
easy  chair,  a  bronze  brazier  with  an  iron  stovepipe  lead- 
ing up  from  it ;  on  the  walls  were  the  signs  of  the  swas- 
tika, Tibetan  and  Mongolian  inscriptions ;  behind  the  easy 
chair  a  small  altar  with  a  golden  statue  of  Buddha 
before  which  two  tallow  lamps  were  burning;  the  floor 
was  covered  with  a  thick  yellow  carpet. 

When  we  entered,  only  the  two  Lama  secretaries  were 


BEFORE  THE  FACE  OF  BUDDHA  261 

there,  for  the  Living  Buddha  was  in  the  small  private 
shrine  in  an  adjoining  chamber,  where  no  one  is  allowed 
to  enter  save  the  Bogdo  Khan  himself  and  one  Lama, 
Kanpo-Gelong,  who  cares  for  the  temple  arrangements 
and  assists  the  Living  Buddha  during  his  prayers  of  soli- 
tude. The  secretary  told  us  that  the  Bogdo  had  been 
greatly  excited  this  morning.  At  noon  he  had  entered 
his  shrine.  For  a  long  time  the  voice  of  the  head  of  the 
Yellow  Faith  was  heard  in  earnest  prayer  and  after  his 
another  unknown  voice  came  clearly  forth.  In  the  shrine 
had  taken  place  a  conversation  between  the  Buddha  on 
earth  and  the  Buddha  of  heaven — thus  the  Lamas  phrased 
it  to  us. 

"Let  us  wait  a  little,"  the  Baron  proposed.  "Perhaps 
he  will  soon  come  out." 

As  we  waited  the  General  began  telling  me  about 
Jahantsi  Lama,  saying  that,  when  Jahantsi  is  calm,  he  is 
an  ordinary  man  but,  when  he  is  disturbed  and  thinks  very 
deeply,  a  nimbus  appears  about  his  head. 

After  half  an  hour  the  Lama  secretaries  suddenly 
showed  signs  of  deep  fear  and  began  listening  closely  by 
the  entrance  to  the  shrine.  Shortly  they  fell  on  their 
faces  on  the  ground.  The  door  slowly  opened  and  there 
entered  the  Emperor  of  Mongolia,  the  Living  Buddha, 
His  Holiness  Bogdo  Djebtsung  Damba  Hutuktu,  Khan 
of  Outer  Mongolia.  He  was  a  stout  old  man  with  a 
heavy  shaven  face  resembling  those  of  the  Cardinals  of 
Rome.  He  was  dressed  in  the  yellow  silken  Mongolian 
coat  with  a  black  binding.  The  eyes  of  the  blind  man 
stood  widely  open.  Fear  and  amazement  were  pictured 
in  them.  He  lowered  himself  heavily  into  the  easy  chair 
and  whispered:  "Write!" 


262  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

A  secretary  immediately  took  paper  and  a  Chinese 
pen  as  the  Bogdo  began  to  dictate  his  vision,  very  com- 
pHcated  and  far  from  clear.  He  finished  with  the  fol- 
lowing words: 

"This  I,  Bogdo  Hutuktu  Khan,  saw,  speaking  with  the 
great  wise  Buddha,  surrounded  by  the  good  and  evil 
spirits.  Wise  Lamas,  Hutuktus,  Kanpos,  Marambas  and 
Holy  Gheghens,  give  the  answer  to  my  vision!" 

As  he  finished,  he  wiped  the  perspiration  from  his  head 
and  asked  who  were  present. 

"Khan  Chiang  Chun  Baron  Ungern  and  a  stranger," 
one  of  the  secretaries  answered  on  his  knees. 

The  General  presented  me  to  the  Bogdo,  who  bowed 
his  head  as  a  sign  of  greeting.  They  began  speaking 
together  in  low  tones.  Through  the  open  door  I  saw 
a  part  of  the  shrine.  I  made  out  a  big  table  with  a  heap 
of  books  on  it,  some  open  and  others  lying  on  the  floor 
below;  a  brazier  with  the  red  charcoal  in  it;  a  basket 
containing  the  shoulder  blades  and  entrails  of  sheep  for 
telling  fortunes.  Soon  the  Baron  rose  and  bowed  before 
the  Bogdo.  The  Tibetan  placed  his  hands  on  the  Baron's 
head  and  whispered  a  prayer.  Then  he  took  from  his 
own  neck  a  heavy  ikon  and  hung  it  around  that  of  the 
Baron. 

"You  will  not  die  but  you  will  be  incarnated  in  the 
highest  form  of  being.  Remember  that,  Incarnated  God 
of  War,  Khan  of  grateful  Mongolia!"  I  understood 
that  the  Living  Buddha  blessed  the  "Bloody  General" 
before  death. 

During  the  next  two  days  I  had  the  opportunity  to 
visit  the  Living  Buddha  three  times  together  with  a  friend 


BEFORE  THE  FACE  OF  BUDDHA  263 

of  the  Bogdo,  the  Buriat  Prince  Djam  Bolon.  I  ^all 
describe  these  visits  in  Part  IV. 

Baron  Ungern  organized  the  trip  for  me  and  my  party 
to  the  shore  of  the  Pacific.  We  were  to  go  on  camels 
to  northern  Manchuria,  because  there  it  was  easy  to 
avoid  cavilling  with  the  Qiinese  authorities  so  badly 
oriented  in  the  international  relationship  with  Poland. 
Having  sent  a  letter  from  Uliassutai  to  the  French  Lega- 
tion at  Peking  and  bearing  with  me  a  letter  from  the 
Chinese  Chamber  of  Commerce,  expressing  thanks  for 
the  saving  of  Uliassutai  from  a  pogrom,  I  intended  to 
make  for  the  nearest  station  on  the  Chinese  Eastern  Rail- 
way and  from  there  proceed  to  Peking,  The  Danish  mer- 
chant E.  V.  Olufsen  was  to  have  traveled  out  with  me 
and  also  a  learned  Lama  Turgut,  who  was  headed  for 
China. 

Never  shall  I  forget  the  night  of  May  19th  to  20th 
of  192 1 !  After  dinner  Baron  Ungern  proposed  that  we 
go  to  the  ymrta  of  Djam  Bolon,  whose  acquaintance  I 
had  made  on  the  first  day  after  my  arrival  in  Urga.  His 
yurta  was  placed  on  a  raised  wooden  platform  in  a  com- 
pound located  behind  the  Russian  settlement.  Two 
Buriat  officers  met  us  and  took  lis  in.  Djam  Bolon  was 
a  man  of  middle  age,  tall  and  thin  with  an  unusually 
long  face.  Before  the  Great  War  he  had  been  a  simple 
shepherd  but  had  fought  together  with  Baron  Ungern 
on  the  German  front  and  afterwards  against  the  Bolshe- 
viki.  He  was  a  Grand  Duke  of  the  Buriats,  the  successor 
of  former  Buriat  kings  who  had  been  dethroned  by  the 
Russian  Government  after  their  attempt  to  establish  the 
Independence  of  the  Buriat  people.    The  servants  brought 


264  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

us  dishes  with  nuts,  raisins,  dates  and  cheese  and  served 
us  tea. 

"This  is  the  last  night,  Djam  Bolon!"  said  Baron 
Ungern.    "You  promised  me  . . ." 

"I  remember,"  answered  the  Buriat,  "all  is  ready." 

For  a  long  time  I  listened  to  their  reminiscences  about 
former  battles  and  friends  who  had  been  lost.  The  clock 
pointed  to  midnight  when  Djam  Bolon  got  up  and  went 
out  of  the  yurta. 

"I  want  to  have  my  fortune  told  once  more,"  said 
Baron  Ungern,  as  though  he  were  justifying  himself. 
"For  the  good  of  our  cause  it  is  too  early  for  me  to 
die " 

Djam  Bolon  came  back  with  a  little  woman  of  middle 
years,  who  squatted  down  eastern  style  before  the 
brazier,  bowed  low  and  began  to  stare  at  Baron  Ungern. 
Her  face  was  whiter,  narrower  and  thinner  than  that  of 
a  Mongol  woman.  Her  eyes  were  black  and  sharp.  Her 
dress  resembled  that  of  a  gypsy  woman.  Afterwards  I 
learned  that  she  was  a  famous  fortune  teller  and  prophet 
among  the  Buriats,  the  daughter  of  a  gypsy  woman  and 
a  Buriat.  She  drew  a  small  bag  very  slowly  from  her 
girdle,  took  from  it  some  small  bird  bones  and  a  handful 
of  dry  grass.  She  began  whispering  at  intervals  unintelli- 
gible words,  as  she  threw  occasional  hand  fills  of  the  grass 
into  the  fire,  which  gradually  filled  the  tent  with  a  soft 
fragrance.  I  felt  a  distinct  palpitation  of  my  heart  and 
a  swimming  in  my  head.  After  the  fortune  teller  had 
burned  all  her  grass,  she  placed  the  bird  bones  on  the 
charcoal  and  turned  them  over  again  and  again  with  a 
small  pair  of  bronze  pincers.  As  the  bones  blackened, 
she  began  to  examine  them  and  then  suddenlv  her  face 


BEFORE  THE  FACE  OF  BUDDHA  265 

took  on  an  expression  of  fear  and  pain.  She  nervously 
tore  off  the  kerchief  which  bound  her  head  and,  contracted 
with  convulsions,  began  snapping  out  short,  sharp  phrases. 

"I  see  ...  I  see  the  God  of  War.  .  .  .  His  Hfe  runs 
out  .  .  .  horribly.  .  .  .  After  it  a  shadow  .  .  .  black  like 
the  night.  .  .  .  Shadow.  .  .  .  One  hundred  thirty  steps 
remain.  .  .  .  Beyond  darkness.  .  .  .  Nothing  ...  I  see 
nothing.  .  .  .  The  God  of  War  has  disappeared.  .  .  ." 

Baron  Ungern  dropped  his  head.  The  woman  fell  over 
on  her  back  with  her  arms  stretched  out.  She  had  fainted, 
but  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  noticed  once  a  bright  pupil 
of  one  of  her  eyes  showing  from  under  the  closed  lashes. 
Two  Buriats  carried  out  the  lifeless  form,  after  which 
a  long  silence  reigned  in  the  yurta  of  the  Buriat  Prince. 
Baron  Ungern  finally  got  up  and  began  to  walk  around 
the  brazier,  whispering  to  himself.  Afterwards  he 
stopped  and  began  speaking  rapidly: 

"I  shall  die !  I  shall  die ! .  .  .  but  no  matter,  no  matter. 
.  .  .  The  cause  has  been  launched  and  will  not  die.  ...  I 
know  the  roads  this  cause  will  travel.  The  tribes  of 
Jenghiz  Khan's  successors  are  awakened.  Nobody  shall 
extinguish  the  fire  in  the  heart  of  the  Mongols !  In  Asia 
there  will  be  a  great  State  from  the  Pacific  and  Indian 
Oceans  to  the  shore  of  the  Volga.  The  wise  religion  of 
Buddha  shall  run  to  the  north  and  the  west.  It  will  be 
the  victory  of  the  spirit.  A  conqueror  and  leader  will 
appear  stronger  and  more  stalwart  than  Jenghiz  Khan 
and  Ugadai.  He  will  be  more  clever  and  more  merciful 
than  Sultan  Baber  and  he  will  keep  power  in  his  hands 
until  the  happy  day  when,  from  his  subterranean  capital, 
shall  emerge  the  King  of  the  World.  Why,  why  shall 
I  not  be  in  the  first  ranks  of  the  warriors  of  Buddhism? 


266  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

Why  has  Karma  decided  so?  But  so  it  must  be!  And 
Russia  must  first  wash  herself  from  the  insult  of  revo- 
lution, purifying  herself  with  blood  and  death;  and  all 
people  accepting  Communism  must  perish  with  their  fam- 
ilies in  order  that  all  their  offspring  may  be  rooted  out!" 

The  Baron  raised  his  hand  above  his  head  and  shook 
it,  as  though  he  were  giving  his  orders  and  bequests  to 
some  invisible  person. 

Day  was  dawning. 

"My  time  has  come!"  said  the  General.  *Tn  a  little 
while  I  shall  leave  Urga." 

He  quickly  and  firmly  shook  hands  with  us  and  said: 

"Good-bye  for  all  time!  I  shall  die  a  horrible  death 
but  the  world  has  never  seen  such  a  terror  and  such  a 
sea  of  blood  as  it  shall  now  see.  .  .  ." 

The  door  of  the  yurta  slammed  shut  and  he  was  gone. 
I  never  saw  him  again. 

"I  must  go  also,  for  I  am  likewise  leaving  Urga  today.  "^ 

"I  know  it,"  answered  the  Prince,  "the  Baron  has  left 
you  with  me  for  some  purpose.  I  will  give  you  a  fourth 
companion,  the  Mongol  Minister  of  War.  You  will  ac- 
company him  to  your  yurta.    It  is  necessary  for  you.  ,  .  ." 

Djam  Bolon  pronounced  this  last  with  an  accent  on 
every  word.  I  did  not  question  him  about  it,  as  I  was 
accustomed  to  the  mystery  of  this  country  of  the  mys- 
teries of  good  and  evil  spirits. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 
"THE  MAN  WITH  A  HEAD  LIKE  A  SADDLE" 

AFTER  drinking  tea  at  Djam  Bolon's  yurta  I  rode 
back  to  my  quarters  and  packed  my  few  belong- 
ings.   The  Lama  Turgut  was  already  there. 

"The  Minister  of  War  will  travel  with  us,"  he  whis- 
pered.   "It  is  necessary." 

"All  right,"  I  answered,  and  rode  off  to  Olufsen  to 
summon  him.  But  Olufsen  unexpectedly  announced 
that  he  was  forced  to  spend  some  few  days  more  in  Urga 
— a  fatal  decision  for  him,  for  a  month  later  he  was 
reported  killed  by  Sepailoff  who  remained  as  Command- 
ant of  the  city  after  Baron  Ungern's  departure.  The 
War  Minister,  a  stout,  young  Mongol,  joined  our  cara- 
van. When  we  had  gone  about  six  miles  from  the 
city,  we  saw  an  automobile  coming  up  behind  us.  The 
Lama  shrunk  up  inside  his  coat  and  looked  at  me 
with  fear.  I  felt  the  now  familiar  atmosphere  of  danger 
and  so  opened  my  holster  and  threw  over  the  safety 
catch  of  my  revolver.  Soon  the  motor  stopped  along- 
side our  caravan.  In  it  sat  Sepailoff  with  a  smiling 
face  and  beside  him  his  two  executioners,  Chestiakoff 
and  Jdanoff.  Sepailoff  greeted  us  very  warmly  and 
asked : 

"You  are  changing  your  horses  in  Khazahuduk  ?    Does 

267 


268  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

the  road  cross  that  pass  ahead?  I  don't  know  the  way 
and  must  overtake  an  envoy  who  went  there." 

The  Minister  of  War  answered  that  we  would  be  in 
Khazahuduk  that  evening  and  gave  Sepailoff  directions 
as  to  the  road.  The  motor  rushed  away  and,  when  it  had 
topped  the  pass,  he  ordered  one  of  the  Mongols  to  gallop 
forward  to  see  whether  it  had  not  stopped  somewhere 
near  the  other  side.  The  Mongol  whipped  his  steed  and 
sped  away.     We  followed  slowly. 

"What  is  the  matter?"  I  asked.     "Please  explain!" 

The  Minister  told  me  that  Djam  Bolon  yesterday  re- 
ceived information  that  Sepailoff  planned  to  overtake  me 
on  the  way  and  kill  me.  Sepailoff  suspected  that  I  had 
stirred  up  the  Baron  against  him.  Djam  Bolon  reported 
the  matter  to  the  Baron,  who  organized  this  column  for 
my  safety.  The  returning  Mongol  reported  that  the 
motor  car  had  gone  on  out  of  sight. 

"Now,"  said  the  Minister,  "we  shall  take  quite  another 
route  so  that  the  Colonel  will  wait  in  vain  for  us  at 
Khazahuduk." 

We  turned  north  at  Undur  Dobo  and  at  night  were  in 
the  camp  of  a  local  prince.  Here  we  took  leave  of  our 
Minister,  received  splendid  fresh  horses  and  quickly  con- 
tinued our  trip  to  the  east,  leaving  behind  us  "the  man 
with  the  head  like  a  saddle"  against  whom  I  had  been 
warned  by  the  old  fortune  teller  in  the  vicinity  of  Van 
Kure. 

After  twelve  days  without  further  adventures  we 
reached  the  first  railway  station  on  the  Chinese  Eastern 
Railway,  from  where  I  traveled  in  unbelievable  luxury  to 
Peking. 


"  MAN  WITH  A  HEAD  LIKE  A  SADDLE  "     269 

Surrounded  by  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of  the 
splendid  hotel  at  Peking,  while  shedding  all  the  attributes 
of  traveler,  hunter  and  warrior,  I  could  not,  however, 
throw  off  the  spell  of  those  nine  days  spent  in  Urga, 
where  I  had  daily  met  Baron  Ungern,  "Incarnated  God 
of  War."  The  newspapers  carrying  accounts  of  the 
bloody  march  of  the  Baron  through  Transbaikalia 
brought  the  pictures  ever  fresh  to  my  mind.  Even  now, 
although  more  than  seven  months  have  elapsed,  I  cannot 
forget  those  nights  of  madness,  inspiration  and  hate. 

The  predictions  are  fulfilled.  Approximately  one  hun- 
dred thirty  days  afterwards  Baron  Ungern  was  captured 
by  the  Bolsheviki  through  the  treachery  of  his  officers  and, 
it  is  reported,  was  executed  at  the  end  of  September. 

Baron  R.  F.  Ungern  von  Sternberg.  .  .  .  Like  a  bloody 
storm  of  avenging  Karma  he  spread  over  Central  Asia. 
What  did  he  leave  behind  him?  The  severe  order  to  his 
soldiers  closing  with  the  words  of  the  Revelations  of 
St.  John : 

"Let  no  one  check  the  revenge  against  the  corrupter 
and  slayer  of  the  soul  of  the  Russian  people.  Revolution 
must  be  eradicated  from  the  World.  Against  it  the  Reve- 
lations of  St.  John  have  warned  us  thus :  'And  the  woman 
was  arrayed  in  purple  and  scarlet,  and  decked  with  gold 
and  precious  stones  and  pearls,  having  in  her  hand  a 
golden  cup  full  of  abominations,  even  the  unclean  things 
of  her  fornication,  and  upon  her  forehead  a  name 
written.  Mystery,  Babylon  the  Great,  the  Mother 
OF  the  Harlots  and  of  the  Abominations  of  the 
Earth.  And  I  saw  the  woman  drunken  with  the  blood 
of  the  saints,  and  with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of 
Jesus.' " 


270  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GOBS 

It  is  a  human  document,  a  document  of  Russian  and, 
perhaps,  of  world  tragedy. 

But  there  remained  another  and  more  important  trace. 
*  In  the  Mongol  yurtas  and  at  the  fires  of  Buriat,  Mon- 
gol, Djungar,  Kirkhiz,  Kalmuck  and  Tibetan  shepherds 
still  speak  the  legend  bom  of  this  son  of  crusaders  and 
privateers : 

"From  the  north  a  white  warrior  came  and  called  on 
the  Mongols  to  break  their  chains  of  slavery,  which  fell 
upon  our  freed  soil.  This  white  warrior  was  the  Incar- 
nated Jenghiz  Khan  and  he  predicted  the  coming  of  the 
greatest  of  all  Mongols  who  will  spread  the  fair  faith 
of  Buddha  and  the  glory  and  power  of  the  offspring  of 
Jenghiz,  Ugadai  and  Kublai  Khan.     So  it  shall  be!" 

Asia  is  awakened  and  her  sons  utter  bold  words. 

It  were  well  for  the  peace  of  the  world  if  they  go  forth 
as  disciples  of  the  wise  creators,  Ugadai  and  Sultan  Babcr, 
rather  than  under  the  spell  of  the  "bad  demons"  of  the 
destructive  Tamerlane. 


Part    IV 
THE  LIVING  BUDDHA 


Part    IV 
THE  LIVING  BUDDHA 


CHAPTER  XL 

IN  THE  BLISSFUL  GARDEN  OF  A  THOUSAND 

JOYS 

IN  Mongolia,  the  country  of  miracles  and  mysteries, 
lives  the  custodian  of  all  the  mysterious  and  unknown, 
the  Living  Buddha,  His  Holiness  Djebtsung  Damba 
Hutuktu  Khan  or  Bogdo  Gheghen,  Pontiff  of  Ta  Kure. 
He  is  the  incarnation  of  the  never-dying  Buddha,  the 
representative  of  the  unbroken,  mysteriously  continued 
line  of  spiritual  emperors  ruling  since  1670,  concealing 
in  themselves  the  ever  refining  spirit  of  Buddha  Amitabha 
joined  with  Chan-ra-zi  or  the  "Compassionate  Spirit  of 
the  Mountains."  In  him  is  everything,  even  the  Sun 
Myth  and  the  fascination  of  the  mysterious  peaks  of  the 
Himalayas,  tales  of  the  Indian  pagoda,  the  stern  majesty 
of  the  Mongolian  Conquerors — Emperors  of  All  Asia — 
and  the  ancient,  hazy  legends  of  the  Chinese  sages;  im- 
mersion in  the  thoughts  of  the  Brahmans;  the  severities 
of  life  of  the  monks  of  the  "Virtuous  Order";  the  ven- 
geance of  the  eternally  wandering  warriors,  the  Olets, 
w'ith  their  Khans,  Batur  Hun  Taigi  and  Gushi ;  the  proud 

273 


2  74  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

bequests  of  Jenghiz  and  Kublai  Khan;  the  clerical  re- 
actionary psychology  of  the  Lamas;  the  mystery  of 
Tibetan  kings  beginning  from  Srong-Tsang  Gampo ;  and 
the  mercilessness  of  the  Yellow  Sect  of  Paspa.  All  the 
hazy  history  of  Asia,  of  Mongolia,  Pamir,  Himalayas, 
Mesopotamia,  Persia  and  China,  surrounds  the  Living 
God  of  Urga,  It  is  little  wonder  that  his  name  is  hon- 
ored along  the  Volga,  in  Siberia,  Arabia,  between  the 
Tigris  and  Euphrates,  in  Indo-China  and  on  the  shores 
of  the  Arctic  Ocean. 

During  my  stay  in  Urga  I  visited  the  abode  of  the 
Living  Buddha  several  times,  spoke  with  him  and  ob- 
served his  life.  His  favorite  learned  Marambas  gave  me 
long  accounts  of  him.  I  saw  him  reading  horoscopes,  I 
heard  his  predictions,  I  looked  over  his  archives  of  ancient 
Dooks  and  the  manuscripts  containing  the  lives  and  pre- 
dictions of  all  the  Bogdo  Khans.  The  Lamas  were  very 
frank  and  open  with  me,  because  the  letter  of  the  Hu- 
tuktu  of  Narabanchi  won  for  me  their  confidence. 

The  personality  of  the  Living  Buddha  is  double,  just 
as  everything  in  Lamaism  is  double.  Clever,  penetrating, 
energetic,  he  at  the  same  time  indulges  in  the  drunken- 
ness which  has  brought  on  blindness.  When  he  became 
blind,  the  Lamas  were  thrown  into  a  state  of  despera- 
ticBi.  Some  of  them  maintained  that  Bogdo  Khan  must 
be  poisoned  and  another  Incarnate  Buddha  set  in  his 
place;  while  the  others  pointed  out  the  great  merits  of 
the  Pontiff  in  the  eyes  of  Mongolians  and  the  followers 
of  the  Yellow  Faith.  They  finally  decided  to  propitiate 
the  gods  by  building  a  great  temple  with  a  gigantic  statue 
of  Buddha.  However,  this  did  not  help  the  Boedo's  sight 
but  the  whole  incident  gave  him  the  opportunity  of  hurry- 


IN  THE  BLISSFUL  GARDEN  275 

ing  on  to  their  higher  H£e  those  among  the  Lamas  who 
had  shown  too  much  radicalism  in  their  proposed  method 
of  solving  his  problem. 

He  never  ceases  to  ponder  upon  the  cause  of  the  church 
and  of  Mongolia  and  at  the  same  time  likes  to  indulge 
himself  with  useless  trifles.  He  amuses  himself  with 
artillery.  A  retired  Russian  officer  presented  him  with 
two  old  guns,  for  which  the  donor  received  the  title  of 
Tumbaiir  Hun,  that  is,  "Prince  Dear-to-my-Heart."  On 
holidays  these  cannon  were  fired  to  the  great  amusement 
of  the  blind  man.  Motor  cars,  gramophones,  telephones, 
crystals,  porcelains,  pictures,  perfumes,  musical  instru- 
ments, rare  animals  and  birds;  elephants,  Himalayan 
bears,  monkeys,  Indian  snakes  and  parrots — all  these  were 
in  the  palace  of  "the  god"  but  all  were  soon  cast  aside 
and  forgotten. 

To  Urga  come  pilgrims  and  presents  from  all  the 
Lamaite  and  Buddhist  world.  Once  the  treasurer  of  the 
palace,  the  Honorable  Balma  Dorji,  took  me  into  the  great 
hall  where  the  presents  were  kept  It  was  a  rnost  unique 
museum  of  precious  articles.  Here  were  gathered 
together  rare  objects  unknown  to  the  museums  of  Europe. 
The  treasurer,  as  he  opened  a  case  with  a  silver  lock, 
said  to  me : 

"These  are  pure  gold  nuggets  from  Bei  Kem ;  here 
are  black  sables  from  Kemchick;  these  the  miraculous 
deer  horns;  this  a  box  sent  by  the  Orochons  and  filled 
with  precious  ginseng  roots  and  fragrant  musk ;  this  a 
bit  of  amber  from  the  coast  of  the  'frozen  sea'  and  it 
weighs  124  lans  (about  ten  pounds) ;  these  are  precious 
stones  from  India,  fragrant  sebet  and  carved  ivory  from 
China." 


276  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

He  showed  the  exhibits  and  talked  of  them  for  a  long 
time  and  evidently  enjoyed  the  telling.  And  really  it 
was  wonderful!  Before  my  eyes  lay  the  bundles  of  rare 
furs;  white  beaver,  black  sables,  white,  blue  and  black 
fox  and  black  panthers;  small  beautifully  carved  tortoise 
shell  boxes  containing  hatyks  ten  or  fifteen  yards  long, 
woven  from  Indian  silk  as  fine  as  the  webs  of  the  spider ; 
small  bags  made  of  golden  thread  filled  with  pearls,  the 
presents  of  Indian  Rajahs ;  precious  rings  with  sapphires 
and  rubies  from  China  and  India;  big  pieces  of  jade, 
rough  diamonds;  ivory  tusks  ornamented  with  gold, 
pearls  and  precious  stones ;  bright  clothes  sewn  with  gold 
and  silver  thread;  walrus  tusks  carved  in  bas-relief  by 
the  primitive  artists  on  the  shores  of  the  Behring  Sea; 
and  much  more  that  one  cannot  recall  or  recount.  In  a 
separate  room  stood  the  cases  with  the  statues  of  Buddha, 
made  of  gold,  silver,  bronze,  ivory,  coral,  mother  of  pearl 
and  from  a  rare  colored  and  fragrant  species  of  wood. 

"You  know  when  conquerors  come  into  a  country 
where  the  gods  are  honored,  they  break  the  images  and 
throw  them  down.  So  it  was  more  than  three  hundred 
years  ago  when  the  Kalmucks  went  into  Tibet  and  the 
same  was  repeated  in  Peking  when  the  European  troops 
looted  the  place  in  1900.  But  do  you  know  why  this  is 
done?    Take  one  of  the  statues  and  examine  it." 

I  picked  up  one  nearest  the  edge,  a  wooden  Buddha, 
and  began  examining  it.  Inside  something  was  loose  and 
rattled. 

"Do  you  hear  it?"  the  Lama  asked.  "These  are  pre- 
cious stones  and  bits  of  gold,  the  entrails  of  the  god.  This 
is  the  reason  why  the  conquerors  at  once  break  up  the 
statues  of  the  gods.    Many  famous  precious  stones  have 


IN  THE  BLISSFUL  GARDEN  277 

appeared  from  the  interior  of  the  statues  of  the  gods  in 
India,  Babylon  and  China." 

Some  rooms  were  devoted  to  the  library,  where  man- 
uscripts and  volumes  of  different  epochs  in  different  lan- 
guages and  with  many  diverse  themes  fill  the  shelves. 
Some  of  them  are  mouldering  or  pulverizing  away  and 
the  Lamas  cover  these  now  with  a  solution  which  partially 
solidifies  like  a  jelly  to  protect  what  remains  from  the 
ravages  of  the  air.  There  also  we  saw  tablets  of  clay 
with  the  cuneiform  inscriptions,  evidently  from  Baby- 
lonia; Chinese,  Indian  and  Tibetan  books  shelved  beside 
those  of  Mongolia;  tomes  of  the  ancient  pure  Buddhism; 
books  of  the  "Red  Caps"  or  corrupt  Buddhism ;  books  of 
the  "Yellow"  or  Lamaite  Buddhism ;  books  of  traditions, 
legends  and  parables.  Groups  of  Lamas  were  perusing, 
studying  and  copying  these  books,  preserving  and  spread- 
ing the  ancient  wisdom  for  their  successors. 

One  department  is  devoted  to  the  mysterious  books  on 
magic,  the  historical  lives  and  works  of  all  the  thirty-one 
Living  Buddhas,  with  the  bulls  of  the  Dalai  Lama,  of  the 
Pontiff  from  Tashi  Lumpo,  of  the  Hutuktu  of  Utai  in 
China,  of  the  Pandita  Gheghen  of  Dolo  Nor  in  Inner 
Mongolia  and  of  the  Hundred  Chinese  Wise  Men.  Only 
the  Bogdo  Hutuktu  and  Maramba  Ta-Rimpo-Cha  can 
enter  this  room  of  mysterious  lore.  The  keys  to  it  rest 
with  the  seals  of  the  Living  Buddha  and  the  ruby  ring  of 
Jenghiz  Khan  ornamented  with  the  sign  of  the  swastika 
in  the  chest  in  the  private  study  of  the  Bogdo. 

The  person  of  His  Holiness  is  surrounded  by  five 
thousand  Lamas.  They  are  divided  into  many  ranks 
from  simple  servants  to  the  "Councillors  of  God,"  of 
which   latter   the   Government   consists.      Among   these 


2  78  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

Councillors  are  all  the  four  Khans  of  Mongolia  and  the 
five  highest  Princes. 

Of  all  the  Lamas  there  are  three  classes  of  peculiar 
interest,  about  which  the  Living  Buddha  himself  told  me 
when  I  visited  him  with  Djam  Bolon. 

"The  God"  sorrowfully  mourned  over  the  demoralized 
and  sumptuous  life  led  by  the  Lamas  which  decreased 
rapidly  the  number  of  fortune  tellers  and  clairvoyants 
among  their  ranks,  saying  of  it: 

"If  the  Jahantsi  and  Narabanchi  monasteries  had 
not  preserved  their  strict  regime  and  rules,  Ta  Kure  would 
have  been  left  without  prophets  and  fortune  tellers. 
Barun  Abaga  Nar,  Dorchiul-Jurdok  and  the  other  holy 
Lamas  who  had  the  power  of  seeing  that  which  is  hidden 
from  the  sight  of  the  common  people  have  gone  with  the 
blessing  of  the  gods." 

This  class  of  Lamas  is  a  very  important  one,  because 
every  important  personage  visiting  the  monasteries  at 
Urga  is  shown  to  the  Lama  Tsuren  or  fortune  teller  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  the  visitor  for  the  study  of  his  des- 
tiny and  fate,  which  are  then  communicated  to  the  Bogdo 
Hutuktu,  so  that  with  these  facts  in  his  possession  the 
Bogdo  knows  in  what  way  to  treat  his  guest  and  what 
policy  to  follow  toward  him.  The  Tzurens  are  mostly 
old  men,  skinny,  exhausted  and  severe  ascetics.  But  I 
have  met  some  who  were  young,  almost  boys.  They  were 
the  Hubilgan,  "incarnate  gods,"  the  future  Hutuktus  and 
Gheghens  of  the  various  Mongolian  monasteries. 

The  second  class  is  the  doctors  or  "Ta  Lama."  They 
observe  the  actions  of  plants  and  certain  products  from 
animals  upon  people,  preserve  Tibetan  medicines  and 
cures,  and  study  anatomy  very  carefully  but  without  mak- 


IN  THE  BLISSFUL  GARDEN  279 

ing  use  of  vivisection  and  the  scalpel.  They  are  skilful 
bone  setters,  masseurs  and  great  connoisseurs  of  hypno- 
tism and  animal  magnetism. 

The  third  class  is  the  highest  rank  of  doctors,  consist- 
ing chiefly  of  Tibetans  and  Kalmucks — poisoners.  They 
may  be  said  to  be  "doctors  of  political  medicine."  They 
live  by  themselves,  apart  from  any  associates,  and  are 
the  great  silent  weapon  in  the  hands  of  the  Living 
Buddha.  I  was  informed  that  a  large  portion  of  them 
are  dumb.  I  saw  one  such  doctor, — the  very  person  who 
poisoned  the  Chinese  physician  sent  by  the  Chinese  Em- 
peror from  Peking  to  "liquidate"  the  Living  Buddha, — a 
small  white  old  fellow  with  a  deeply  wrinkled  face,  a  curl 
of  white  hairs  on  his  chin  and  with  vivacious  eyes  that 
were  ever  shifting  inquiringly  about  him.  Whenever  he 
comes  to  a  monastery,  the  local  "god"  ceases  to  eat  and 
drink  in  fear  of  the  activities  of  this  Mongolian 
Locusta.  But  even  this  cannot  save  the  condemned,  for 
a  poisoned  cap  or  shirt  or  boots,  or  a  rosary,  a  bridle, 
books  or  religious  articles  soaked  in  a  poisonous  solution 
will  surely  accomplish  the  object  of  the  Bogdo-Khan. 

The  deepest  esteem  and  religious  faithfulness  sur- 
round the  blind  Pontiff.  Before  him  all  fall  on  their 
faces.  Khans  and  Hutuktus  approach  him  on  their  knees. 
Everything  about  him  is  dark,  full  of  Oriental  antiquity. 
The  drunken  blind  man,  listening  to  the  banal  arias  of 
the  gramophone  or  shaking  his  servants  with  an  electric 
current  from  his  dynamo,  the  ferocious  old  fellow  poi- 
soning his  political  enemies,  the  Lama  keeping  his  people 
in  darkness  and  deceiving  them  with  his  prophecies  and 
fortune  telling, — he  is,  however,  not  an  entirely  ordinary 
man. 


28o  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

One  day  we  sat  in  the  room  of  the  Bogdo  and  Prince 
Djam  Bolon  translated  to  him  my  story  of  the  Great 
War.  The  old  fellow  was  listening  very  carefully  but 
suddenly  opened  his  eyes  widely  and  began  to  give 
attention  to  some  sounds  coming  in  from  outside  the 
room.  His  face  became  reverent,  supplicant  and 
frightened. 

"The  Gods  call  me,"  he  whispered  and  slowly  moved 
into  his  private  shrine,  where  he  prayed  loudly  about  two 
hours,  kneeling  immobile  as  a  statue.  His  prayer  consists 
of  conversation  with  the  invisible  gods,  to  whose  ques- 
tions he  himself  gave  the  answers.  He  came  out  of  the 
shrine  pale  and  exhausted  but  pleased  and  happy.  It  was 
his  personal  prayer.  During  the  regular  temple  service 
he  did  not  participate  in  the  prayers,  for  then  he  is  "God." 
Sitting  on  his  throne,  he  is  carried  and  placed  on  the 
altar  and  there  prayed  to  by  the  Lamas  and  the  people. 
He  only  receives  the  prayers,  hopes,  tears,  woe  and  des- 
peration of  the  people,  immobilely  gazing  into  space  with 
his  sharp  and  bright  but  blind  eyes.  At  various  times  in 
the  service  the  Lamas  robe  him  in  different  vestments, 
combinations  of  yellow  and  red,  and  change  his  caps.  The 
service  always  finishes  at  the  solemn  moment  when  the 
Living  Buddha  with  the  tiara  on  his  head  pronounces  the 
pontifical  blessing  upon  the  congregation,  turning  his  face 
to  all  four  cardinal  points  of  the  compass  and  finally 
stretching  out  his  hands  toward  the  northwest,  that  is,  to 
Europe,  whither  in  the  belief  of  the  Yellow  Faith  must 
travel  the  teachings  of  the  wise  Buddha. 

After  earnest  prayers  or  long  temple  services  the  Pon- 
tiff seems  very  deeply  shaken  and  often  calls  his  secrc 


IN  THE  BLISSFUL  GARDEN  281 

taries  and  dictates  his  visions  and  prophecies,  always  very 
complicated  and  unaccompanied  by  his  deductions. 

Sometimes  with  the  words  "Their  souls  are  communi- 
cating," he  puts  on  his  white  robes  and  goes  to  pray  in 
his  shrine.  Then  all  the  gates  of  the  palace  are  shut  and 
all  the  Lamas  are  sunk  in  solemn,  mystic  fear;  all  are 
praying,  telling  their  rosaries  and  whispering  the  orison : 
"Om!  Mani  padme  Hung!"  or  turning  the  prayer  wheels 
with  their  prayers  or  exorcisings;  the  fortune  tellers  read 
their  horoscopes ;  the  clairvoyants  write  out  their  visions ; 
while  Marambas  search  the  ancient  books  for  explana- 
tions of  the  words  of  the  Living  Buddha. 


CHAPTER  XLI 

THE  DUST  OF  CENTURIES 

TTAVE  you  ever  seen  the  dusty  cobwebs  and  the 
"■"  "■•  mould  in  the  cellars  of  some  ancient  castle  in  Italy, 
France  or  England?  This  is  the  dust  of  centuries.  Per- 
haps it  touched  the  faces,  helmets  and  swords  of  a  Roman 
Augustus,  St.  Louis,  the  Inquisitor,  Galileo  or  King 
Richard.  Your  heart  is  involuntarily  contracted  and  you 
feel  a  respect  for  these  witnesses  of  elapsed  ages.  This 
same  impression  came  to  me  in  Ta  Kure,  perhaps  more 
deep,  more  realistic.  Here  life  flows  on  almost  as  it 
flowed  eight  centuries  ago;  here  man  lives  only  in  the 
past ;  and  the  contemporary  only  complicates  and  prevents 
the  normal  life. 

"Today  is  a  great  day,"  the  Living  Buddha  once  said 
to  me,  "the  day  of  the  victory  of  Buddhism  over  all  other 
religions.  It  was  a  long  time  ago — on  this  day  Kublai 
Khan  called  to  him  the  Lamas  of  all  religions  and  ordered 
them  to  state  to  him  how  and  what  they  believed.  They 
praised  their  Gods  and  their  Hutuktus.  Discussions  and 
quarrels  began.  Only  one  Lama  remained  silent.  At 
last  he  mockingly  smiled  and  said: 

"  'Great  Emperor !  Order  each  to  prove  the  power  of 
his  Gods  by  the  performance  of  a  miracle  and  afterwards 
judge  and  choose.* 

282 


THE   DUST  OF  CENTURIES  283 

"Kublai  Khan  so  ordered  all  the  Lamas  to  show  him  a 
miracle  but  all  were  silent,  confused  and  powerless  before 
him. 

"  'Now,'  said  the  Emperor,  addressing  the  Lama  who 
had  tendered  this  suggestion,  'now  you  must  prove  the 
power  of  your  Gods !' 

'The  Lama  looked  long  and  silently  at  the  Emperor, 
turned  and  gazed  at  the  whole  assembly  and  then  quietly 
stretched  out  his  hand  toward  them.  At  this  instant  the 
golden  goblet  of  the  Emperor  raised  itself  from  the  table 
and  tipped  before  the  lips  of  the  Khan  without  a  visible 
hand  supporting  it.  The  Emperor  felt  the  delight  of  a 
fragrant  wine.  All  were  struck  with  astonishment  and 
the  Emperor  spoke: 

"  'I  elect  to  pray  to  your  Gods  and  to  them  all  people 
subject  to  me  must  pray.  What  is  your  faith?  Who 
are  you  and  from  where  do  you  come?' 

"  'My  faith  is  the  teaching  of  the  wise  Buddha.  I  am 
Pandita  Lama,  Turjo  Gamba,  from  the  distant  and 
glorious  monastery  of  Sakkia  in  Tibet,  where  dwells  in- 
carnate in  a  human  body  the  Spirit  of  Buddha,  his  Wis- 
dom and  his  Power.  Remember,  Emperor,  that  the  peo- 
ples who  hold  our  faith  shall  possess  all  the  Western 
Universe  and  during  eight  hundred  and  eleven  years 
shall  spread  their  faith  throughout  the  whole  world.' 

"Thus  it  happened  on  this  same  day  many  centuries 
ago!  Lama  Turjo  Gamba  did  not  return  to  Tibet  but 
lived  here  in  Ta  Kure,  where  there  was  then  only  a  small 
temple.  From  here  he  traveled  to  the  Emperor  at  Kara- 
korum  and  afterwards  with  him  to  the  capital  of  China 
to  fortify  hirp  in  the  Faith,  to  predict  the  fate  of  state 


284  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

affairs  and  to  enlighten  him  according  to  the  will  of 
God." 

The  Living  Buddha  was  silent  for  a  time,  whispered  a 
prayer  and  then  continued : 

"Urga,  the  ancient  nest  of  Buddhism.  . .  .  With  Jenghiz 
Khan  on  his  European  conquest  went  out  the  Olets  or 
Kalmucks.  They  remained  there  almost  four  hundred 
years,  living  on  the  plains  of  Russia.  Then  they  returned 
to  Mongolia  because  the  Yellow  Lamas  called  them  to 
fight  against  the  Kings  of  Tibet,  Lamas  of  the  'red  caps,' 
who  were  oppressing  the  people.  The  Kalmucks  helped 
the  Yellow  Faith  but  they  realized  that  Lhasa  was  too 
distant  from  the  whole  world  and  could  not  spread  our 
Faith  throughout  the  earth.  Consequently  the  Kalmuck 
Gushi  Khan  brought  up  from  Tibet  a  holy  Lama,  Undur 
Gheghen,  who  had  visited  the  'King  of  the  World.'  From 
that  day  the  Bogdo  Gheghen  has  continuously  lived  in 
Urga,  a  protector  of  the  freedom  of  Mongolia  and  of  the 
Chinese  Emperors  of  Mongolian  origin.  Undur  Gheghen 
was  the  first  Living  Buddha  in  the  land  of  the  Mongols. 
He  left  to  us,  his  successors,  the  ring  of  Jenghiz  Khan, 
which  was  sent  by  Kublai  Khan  to  Dalai  Lama  in  return 
for  the  miracle  shown  by  the  Lama  Turjo  Gamba;  also 
the  top  of  the  skull  of  a  black,  mysterious  miracle  worker 
from  India,  using  which  as  a  bowl,  Strongtsan,  King  of 
Tibet,  drank  during  the  temple  ceremonies  one  thousand 
six  hundred  years  ago ;  as  well  as  an  ancient  stone  statue 
of  Buddha  brought  from  Delhi  by  the  founder  of  the 
Yellow  Faith,  Paspa." 

The  Bogdo  clapped  his  hands  and  one  of  the  secretaries 
took  from  a  red  kerchief  a  big  silver  key  with  which  he 


THE   DUST  OF  CENTURIES  285 

unlocked  the  chest  with  the  seals.  The  Living  Buddha 
slipped  his  hand  into  the  chest  and  drew  forth  a  small 
box  of  carved  ivory,  from  which  he  took  out  and  showed 
to  me  a  large  gold  ring  set  with  a  magnificent  ruby  carved 
with  the  sign  of  the  swastika. 

"This  ring  was  always  worn  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
Khans  Jenghiz  and  Kublai,"  said  the  Bogdo. 

When  the  secretary  had  closed  the  chest,  the  Bogdo 
ordered  him  to  summon  his  favorite  Maramba,  whom  he 
directed  to  read  some  pages  from  an  ancient  book  lying 
on  the  table.    The  Lama  began  to  read  monotonously. 

"When  Gushi  Khan,  the  Chief  of  all  the  Olets  or  Kal- 
mucks, finished  the  war  with  the  'Red  Caps'  in  Tibet,  he 
carried  out  with  him  the  miraculous  'black  stone'  sent  to 
the  Dalai  Lama  by  the  'King  of  the  World.'  Gushi  Khan 
wanted  to  create  in  Western  Mongolia  the  capital  of  the 
i'"ellow  Faith ;  but  the  Olets  at  that  time  were  at  war  with 
the  Manchu  Emperors  for  the  throne  of  China  and  suf- 
fered one  defeat  after  another.  The  last  Khan  of  the 
Olets,  Amursana,  ran  away  into  Russia  but  before  his 
escape  sent  to  Urga  the  sacred  'black  stone.'  While  it 
remained  in  Urga  so  that  the  Living  Buddha  could  bless 
the  people  with  it,  disease  and  misfortune  never  touched 
the  Mongolians  and  their  cattle.  About  one  hundred 
years  ago,  however,  some  one  stole  the  sacred  stone  and 
since  then  Buddhists  have  vainly  sought  it  throughout  the 
whole  world.  With  its  disappearance  the  Mongol  people 
began  gradually  to  die." 

"Enough !"  ordered  Bogdo  Gheghen.  "Our  neighbors 
hold  us  in  contempt.  They  forget  that  we  were  their 
sovereigns  but  we  preserve  our  holy  traditions  and  we 


286  BEASTS,   MEN  AND   GODS 

know  that  the  day  of  triumph  of  the  Mongolian  tribes 
and  the  Yellow  Faith  will  come.  We  have  the  Protectors 
of  the  Faith,  the  Buriats.  They  are  the  truest  guardians 
of  the  bequests  of  Jenghiz  Khan." 

So  spoke  the  Living  Buddha  and  so  have  spoken  the 
ancient  books! 


CHAPTER  XLII 

THE  BOOKS  OF  MIRACLES 

pRINCE  DJAM  BOLON  asked  a  Maramba  to  show 
■*■  us  the  Hbrary  of  the  Living  Buddha.  It  is  a  big  room 
occupied  by  scores  of  writers  who  prepare  the  works 
deaHng  with  the  miracles  of  all  the  Living  Buddhas, 
beginning  with  Undur  Gheghen  and  ending  with  those  of 
the  Gheghens  and  Hutuktus  of  the  different  Mongol 
monasteries.  These  books  are  afterwards  distributed 
through  all  the  Lama  Monasteries,  temples  and  schools 
of  Bandi.    A  Maramba  read  two  selections: 

". .  .  The  beatific  Bogdo  Gheghen  breathed  on  a  mirror. 
Immediately  as  through  a  haze  there  appeared  the  picture 
of  a  valley  in  which  many  thousands  of  thousands  of 
warriors  fought  one  against  another.  .  .  ." 

"The  wise  and  favored-of-the-gods  Living  Buddha 
burned  incense  in  a  brazier  and  prayed  to  the  Gods  to 
reveal  the  lot  of  the  Princes.  In  the  blue  smoke  all  saw 
a  dark  prison  and  the  paUid,  tortured  bodies  of  the  dead 
Princes.  .  .  ." 

A  sp>ecial  book,  already  done  into  thousands  of  copies, 
dwelt  upon  the  miracles  of  the  present  Living  Buddha. 
Prince  Djani  Bolon  described  to  me  some  of  the  contents 
of  this  volume. 

"There  exists  an  ancient  wooden  Buddha  with  open 
eyes.      He   was  brought   here    from   India   and   Bogdo 

287 


288  BEASTS,   MEN   AND   GODS 

Gheghen  placed  him  on  the  altar  and  began  to  pray. 
When  he  returned  from  the  shrine,  he  ordered  the  statue 
of  Buddha  brought  out.  All  were  struck  with  amazement, 
for  the  eyes  of  the  God  were  shut  and  tears  were  falling 
from  them;  from  the  wooden  body  green  sprouts  ap- 
peared; and  the  Bogdo  said: 

"  'Woe  and  joy  are  awaiting  me.  I  shall  become  blind 
but  Mongolia  will  be  free.' 

"The  prophecy  is  fulfilled.  At  another  time,  on  a  day 
when  the  Living  Buddha  was  very  much  excited,  he 
ordered  a  basin  of  water  brought  and  set  before  the  altar. 
He  called  the  Lamas  and  began  to  pray.  Suddenly  the 
altar  candles  and  lamps  lighted  themselves  and  the  water 
in  the  basin  became  iridescent." 

Afterwards  the  Prince  described  to  me  how  the  Bogdo 
Khan  tells  fortunes  with  fresh  blood,  upon  whose  surface 
appear  words  and  pictures;  with  the  entrails  of  sheep 
and  goats,  according  to  whose  distribution  the  Bogdo 
reads  the  fate  of  the  Princes  and  knows  their  thoughts; 
with  stones  and  bones  from  which  the  Living  Buddha 
with  great  accuracy  reads  the  lot  of  all  men ;  and  by  the 
stars,  in  accordance  with  whose  positions  the  Bogdo  pre- 
pares amulets  against  bullets  and  disease. 

"The  former  Bogdo  Khans  told  fortunes  only  by  the 
use  of  the  'black  stone,'  "  said  the  Maramba.  "On  the 
surface  of  the  stone  appeared  Tibetan  inscriptions  which 
the  Bogdo  read  and  thus  learned  the  lot  of  whole  nations." 

When  the  Maramba  spoke  of  the  black  stone  with  the 
Tibetan  legends  appearing  on  it,  I  at  once  recalled  that 
it  was  possible.  In  southeastern  Urianhai,  in  Ulan 
Taiga,  I  came  across  a  place  where  black  slate  was  de- 
composing.   All  the  pieces  of  this  slate  were  covered  with 


THE   BOOK  OF  MIRACLES  289 

a  special  white  lichen,  which  formed  very  complicated 
designs,  reminding  me  of  a  Venetian  lace  pattern  or  whole 
pages  of  mysterious  runes.  When  the  slate  was  wet, 
these  designs  disappeared;  and  then,  as  they  were  dried, 
the  patterns  came  out  again. 

Nobody  has  the  right  or  dares  to  ask  the  Living  Buddha 
to  tell  his  fortune.  He  predicts  only  when  he  feels  the 
inspiration  or  when  a  special  delegate  comes  to  him  bear- 
ing a  request  for  it  from  the  Dalai  Lama  or  the  Tashi 
Lama.  When  the  Russian  Czar,  Alexander  I,  fell  under 
the  influence  of  Baroness  Kzudener  and  of  her  extreme 
mysticism,  he  despatched  a  special  envoy  to  the  Living 
Buddha  to  ask  about  his  destiny.  The  then  Bogdo  Khan, 
quite  a  young  man,  told  his  fortune  according  to  the 
"black  stone"  and  predicted  that  the  White  Czar  would 
finish  his  life  in  very  painful  wanderings  unknown  to  all 
and  everywhere  pursued.  In  Russia  today  there  exists 
a  popular  belief  that  Alexander  I  spent  the  last  days  of 
his  life  as  a  wanderer  throughout  Russia  and  Siberia 
under  the  pseudonym  of  Feodor  Kusmitch,  helping  and 
consoling  prisoners,  beggars  and  other  suffering  people, 
often  pursued  and  imprisoned  by  the  police  and  finally 
dying  at  Tomsk  in  Siberia,  where  even  until  now  they 
have  preserved  the  house  where  he  spent  his  last  days 
and  have  kept  his  grave  sacred,  a  place  of  pilgrimages 
and  miracles.  The  former  d}Tiasty  of  Romanoff  was 
deeply  interested  in  the  biography  of  Feodor  Kusmitch 
and  this  interest  fixed  the  opinion  that  Kusmitch  was 
really  the  Czar  Alexander  I,  who  had  voluntarily  taken 
upon  himself  this  severe  penance. 


CHAPTER  XLIII 
THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  LIVING  BUDDHA 

THE  Living  Buddha  does  not  die.  His  soul  some- 
times passes  into  that  of  a  child  born  on  the  day 
of  his  death  and  sometimes  transfers  itself  to  another 
being  during  the  life  of  the  Buddha.  This  new  mortal 
dwelling  of  the  sacred  spirit  of  the  Buddha  almost  always 
appears  in  the  yurta  of  some  poor  Tibetan  or  Mongol 
family.  There  is  a  reason  of  policy  for  this.  If  the 
Buddha  appears  in  the  family  of  a  rich  prince,  it  could 
result  in  the  elevation  of  a  family  that  would  not  yield 
obedience  to  the  clergy  (and  such  has  happened  in  the 
past),  while  on  the  other  hand  any  poor,  unknown  family 
that  becomes  the  heritor  of  the  throne  of  Jenghiz  Khan 
acquires  riches  and  is  readily  submissive  to  the  Lamas. 
Only  three  or  four  Living  Buddhas  were  of  purely  Mon- 
golian origin;  the  remainder  were  Tibetans. 

One  of  the  Councillors  of  the  Living  Buddha,  Lama- 
Khan  Jassaktu,  told  me  the  following: 

"In  the  monasteries  at  Lhasa  and  Tashi  Lumpo  they 
are  kept  constantly  informed  through  letters  from  Urga 
about  the  health  of  the  Living  Buddha.  When  his  human 
body  becomes  old  and  the  Spirit  of  Buddha  strives  to 
extricate  itself,  special  solemn  services  begin  in  the 
Tibetan  temples  together  with  the  telling  of  fortunes  by 
astrology.    These  rites  indicate  the  specially  pious  Lamas 

290 


THE   BIRTH  OF  THE   LIVING   BUDDHA    291 

who  must  discover  where  the  Spirit  of  the  Buddha  will 
be  re-incarnated.  For  this  purpose  they  travel  through- 
out the  whole  land  and  observe.  Often  God  himself  gives 
them  signs  and  indications.  Sometimes  the  white  wolf 
appears  near  the  yurta  of  a  poor  shepherd  or  a  lamb  with 
two  heads  is  born  or  a  meteor  falls  from  the  sky.  Some 
Lamas  take  fish  from  the  sacred  lake  Tangri  Nor  and 
read  on  the  scales  thereof  the  name  of  the  new  Bogdo 
Khan;  others  pick  out  stones  whose  cracks  indicate  to 
them  where  they  must  search  and  whom  they  must  find; 
while  others  secrete  themselves  in  narrow  mountain  ra- 
vines to  listen  to  the  voices  of  the  spirits  of  the  moun- 
tains, pronouncing  the  name  of  the  new  choice  of  the 
Gods.  When  he  is  found,  all  the  possible  information 
about  his  family  is  secretly  collected  and  presented  to  the 
Most  Learned  Tashi  Lama,  having  the  name  of  Erdeni, 
"The  Great  Gem  of  Learning,"  who,  according  to  the 
runes  of  Rama,  verifies  the  selection.  If  he  is  in  agree- 
ment with  it,  he  sends  a  secret  letter  to  the  Dalai  Lama, 
who  holds  a  special  sacrifice  in  the  Temple  of  the  "Spirit 
of  the  Mountains"  and  confirms  the  election  by  putting 
his  great  seal  on  this  letter  of  the  Tashi  Lama. 

If  the  old  Living  Buddha  be  still  alive,  the  name  of  his 
successor  is  kept  a  deep  secret;  if  the  Spirit  of  Buddha 
has  already  gone  out  from  the  body  of  Bogdo  Khan,  a 
special  legation  appears  from  Tibet  with  the  new  Living 
Buddha.  The  same  process  accompanies  the  election  of 
the  Gheghen  and  Hutuktus  in  all  the  Lamaite  monasteries 
in  Mongolia;  but  confirmation  of  the  election  resides  with 
the  Living  Buddha  and  is  only  announced  to  Lhasa  after 
the  event. 


CHAPTER  XLIV 

A  PAGE  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  PRESENT 
LIVING  BUDDHA 

THE  present  Bogdo  Khan  of  Outer  Mongolia  is  a 
Tibetan.  He  sprang  from  a  poor  family  living  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Sakkia  Kure  in  western  Tibet.  From 
earliest  youth  he  had  a  stormy,  quite  unaesthetic  nature. 
He  was  fired  with  the  idea  of  the  independence  and  glori- 
fication of  Mongolia  and  the  successors  of  Jenghiz  Khan. 
This  gave  him  at  once  a  great  influence  among  the  Lamas, 
Princes  and  Khans  of  Mongolia  and  also  with  the  Rus- 
sian Government  which  always  tried  to  attract  him  to 
their  side.  He  did  not  fear  to  arraign  himself  against 
the  Manchu  dynasty  in  China  and  always  had  the  help 
of  Russia,  Tibet,  the  Buriats  and  Kirghiz,  furnishing  him 
with  money,  weapons,  warriors  and  diplomatic  aid.  The 
Chinese  Emperors  avoided  open  war  with  the  Living 
God,  because  it  might  arouse  the  protests  of  the  Chinese 
Buddhists.  At  one  time  they  sent  to  the  Bogdo  Khan 
a  skilful  doctor-poisoner.  The  Living  Buddha,  however, 
at  once  understood  the  meaning  of  this  medical  attention 
and,  knowing  the  power  of  Asiatic  poisons,  decided  to 
make  a  journey  through  the  Mongol  monasteries  and 
through  Tibet.  As  his  substitute  he  left  a  Hubilgan  who 
made  friends  with  the  Chinese  doctor  and  inquired  from 
him  the  purposes  and  details  of  his  arrival.    Very  soon 

292 


THE  PRESENT  LIVING  BUDDHA  293 

the  Chinese  died  from  some  unknown  cause  and  the  Liv- 
ing Buddha  returned  to  his  comfortable  capital. 

On  another  occasion  danger  threatened  the  Living  God. 
It  was  when  Lhasa  decided  that  the  Bogdo  Khan  was 
carrying  out  a  policy  too  independent  of  Tibet.  The 
Dalai  Lama  began  negotiations  with  several  Khans  and 
Princes  with  the  Sain  Noion  Khan  and  Jassaktu  Khan 
leading  the  movement  and  persuaded  them  to  accelerate 
the  immigration  of  the  Spirit  of  Buddha  into  another 
human  form.  They  came  to  Urga  where  the  Bogdo 
Khan  met  them  with  honors  and  rejoicings.  A  great 
feast  was  made  for  them  and  the  conspirators  already 
felt  themselves  the  accomplishers  of  the  orders  of  the 
Dalai  Lama.  However,  at  the  end  of  the  feast,  they 
had  different  feelings  and  died  with  them  during  the 
night.  The  Living  Buddha  ordered  their  bodies  sent  with 
full  honors  to  their  families. 

The  Bogdo  Khan  knows  every  thought,  every  move- 
ment of  the  Princes  and  Khans,  the  slightest  conspiracy 
against  himself,  and  the  offender  is  usually  kindly  invited 
to  Urga,  from  where  he  does  not  return  alive. 

The  Chinese  Government  decided  to  terminate  the  line 
of  the  Living  Buddhas.  Ceasing  to  fight  with  the  Pontiff 
of  Urga,  the  Government  contrived  the  following  scheme 
for  accomplishing  its  ends. 

Peking  invited  the  Pandita  Gheghen  from  Dolo  Nor 
and  the  head  of  the  Chinese  Lamaites,  the  Hutuktu  of 
Utai,  both  of  whom  do  not  recognize  the  supremacy  of 
the  Living  Buddha,  to  come  to  the  capital.  They  decided, 
after  consulting  the  old  Buddhistic  books,  that  the  present 
Bogdo  Khan  was  to  be  the  last  Living  Buddha,  because 
that  part  of  the  Spirit  of  Buddha  which  dwells  in  the 


294  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

Bogdo  Khans  can  abide  only  thirty-one  times  in  the 
human  body.  Bogdo  Khan  is  the  thirty-first  Incarnated 
Buddha  from  the  time  of  Undur  Gheghen  and  with  him, 
therefore,  the  dynasty  of  the  Urga  Pontiffs  must  cease. 
However,  on  hearing  this  the  Bogdo  Khan  himself  did 
some  research  work  and  found  in  the  old  Tibetan  manu- 
scripts that  one  of  the  Tibetan  Pontiffs  was  married  and 
his  son  was  a  natural  Incarnated  Buddha.  So  the  Bogdo 
Khan  married  and  now  has  a  son,  a  very  capable  and 
energetic  young  man,  and  thus  the  religious  throne  of 
Jenghiz  Khan  will  not  be  left  empty.  The  dynasty  of 
the  Chinese  emperors  disappeared  from  the  stage  of 
political  events  but  the  Living  Buddha  continues  to  be  a 
center  for  the  Pan-Asiatic  idea. 

The  new  Chinese  Government  in  1920  held  the  Living 
Buddha  under  arrest  in  his  palace  but  at  the  beginning 
of  192 1  Baron  Ungern  crossed  the  sacred  Bogdo-Ol  and 
approached  the  palace  from  the  rear.  Tibetan  riders 
shot  the  Chinese  sentries  with  bow  and  arrow  and  after- 
wards the  Mongols  penetrated  into  the  palace  and  stole 
their  "God,"  who  immediately  stirred  up  all  Mongolia 
and  awakened  the  hopes  of  the  Asiatic  peoples  and  tribes. 

In  the  great  palace  of  the  Bogdo  a  Lama  showed  me 
a  special  casket  covered  with  a  precious  carpet,  wherein 
they  keep  the  bulls  of  the  Dalai  and  Tashi  Lamas,  the 
decrees  of  the  Russian  and  Chinese  Emperors  and  the 
Treaties  between  Mongolia,  Russia,  China  and  Tibet.  In 
this  same  casket  is  the  copper  plate  bearing  the  mysterious 
sign  of  the  "King  of  the  World"  and  the  chronicle  of  the 
last  vision  of  the  Living  Buddha. 


CHAPTER  XLV 

THE  VISION  OF  THE  LIVING  BUDDHA  OF 
MAY  17,  192 1 

**T  PRAYED  and  saw  that  which  is  hidden  from  the 

-»•  eyes  of  the  people.  A  vast  plain  was  spread  before 
me  surrounded  by  distant  mountains.  An  old  Lama  car- 
ried a  basket  filled  with  heavy  stones.  He  hardly  moved. 
From  the  north  a  rider  appeared  in  white  robes  and 
mounted  on  a  white  horse.  He  approached  the  Lama 
and  said  to  him: 

"  'Give  me  your  basket.  I  shall  help  you  to  carry  them 
to  the  Kure.' 

"The  Lama  handed  his  heavy  burden  up  to  him  but 
the  rider  could  not  raise  it  to  his  saddle  so  that  the  old 
Lama  had  to  place  it  back  on  his  shoulder  and  continue 
on  his  way,  bent  under  its  heavy  weight.  Then  from  the 
north  came  another  rider  in  black  robes  and  on  a  black 
horse,  who  also  approached  the  Lama  and  said  : 

"  *Stupid !  Why  do  you  carry  these  stones  when  they 
are  everywhere  about  the  ground?' 

"With  these  words  he  pushed  the  Lama  over  with  the 
breast  of  his  horse  and  scattered  the  stones  about  the 
ground.  When  the  stones  touched  the  earth,  they  became 
diamonds.  All  three  rushed  to  raise  them  but  not  one 
of  them  could  break  them  loose  from  the  ground.  Then 
the  old  Lama  exclaimed: 

295 


296  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

"  *Oh  Gods!  All  my  life  I  have  carried  this  heavy 
burden  and  now,  when  there  was  left  so  little  to  go,  I 
have  lost  it.    Help  me,  great,  good  Gods !' 

"Suddenly  a  tottering  old  man  appeared.  He  collected 
all  the  diamonds  into  the  basket  without  trouble,  cleaned 
the  dust  from  them,  raised  the  burden  to  his  shoulder  and 
started  out,  speaking  with  the  Lama: 

"  'Rest  a  while,  I  have  just  carried  my  burden  to  the 
goal  and  I  am  glad  to  help  you  with  yours.' 

"They  went  on  and  were  soon  out  of  sight,  while  the 
riders  began  to  fight.  They  fought  one  whole  day  and 
then  the  whole  night  and,  when  the  sun  rose  over  the 
plain,  neither  was  there,  either  alive  or  dead,  and  no  trace 
of  either  remained.  This  I  saw,  Bogdo  Hutuktu  Khan, 
speaking  with  the  Great  and  Wise  Buddha,  surrounded 
by  the  good  and  bad  demons!  Wise  Lamas,  Hutuktus, 
Kampos,  Marambas  and  Holy  Gheghens,  give  the  answer 
to  my  vision!" 

This  was  written  in  my  presence  on  May  17th,  1921, 
from  the  words  of  the  Living  Buddha  just  as  he  came  out 
of  his  private  shrine  to  his  study.  I  do  not  know  what 
the  Hutuktu  and  Gheghens,  the  fortune  tellers,  sorcerers 
and  clairvoyants  replied  to  him ;  but  does  not  the  answer 
seem  clear,  if  one  realizes  the  present  situation  in  Asia? 

Awakened  Asia  is  full  of  enigmas  but  it  Is  also  full  of 
answers  to  the  questions  set  by  the  destiny  of  humankind. 
This  great  continent  of  mysterious  Pontiffs,  Living  Gods, 
Mahatmas  and  readers  of  the  terrible  book  of  Karma  is 
awakening  and  the  ocean  of  hundreds  of  millions  of 
human  lives  is  lashed  with  monstrous  waves. 


Part  V 

MYSTERY  OF  MYSTERIES— THE 
KING  OF  THE  WORLD 


Part  V 

MYSTERY  OF  MYSTERIES— THE 
KING  OF  THE  WORLD 


CHAPTER  XLVI 

THE  SUBTERRANEAN  KINGDOM 

"QTOP!"  whispered  my  old  Mongol  guide,  as  we  were 
^  one  day  crossing  the  plain  near  Tzagan  Luk. 
"Stop!" 

He  slipped  from  his  camel  which  lay  down  without 
his  bidding.  The  Mongol  raised  his  hands  in  prayer 
before  his  face  and  began  to  repeat  the  sacred  phrase: 
"Om!  Mani  padme  Hung!"  The  other  Mongols  imme- 
diately stopped  their  camels  and  began  to  pray. 

"What  has  happened?"  I  thought,  as  I  gazed  round 
over  the  tender  green  grass,  up  to  the  cloudless  sky  and 
out  toward  the  dreamy  soft  rays  of  the  evening  sun. 

The  Mongols  prayed  for  some  time,  whispered  among 
themselves  and,  after  tightening  up  the  packs  on  the 
camels,  moved  on. 

"Did  you  see,"  asked  the  Mongol,  "how  our  camels 
moved  their  ears  in  fear?    How  the  herd  of  horses  on 

299 


300  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

the  plain  stood  fixed  in  attention  and  how  the  herds  of 
sheep  and  cattle  lay  crouched  close  to  the  ground?  Did 
you  notice  that  the  birds  did  not  fly,  the  marmots  did 
not  run  and  the  dogs  did  not  bark?  The  air  trembled 
softly  and  bore  from  afar  the  music  of  a  song  which 
penetrated  to  the  hearts  of  men,  animals  and  birds  alike. 
Earth  and  sky  ceased  breathing.  The  wind  did  not  blow 
and  the  sun  did  not  move.  At  such  a  moment  the  wolf 
that  is  stealing  up  on  the  sheep  arrests  his  stealthy  crawl ; 
the  frightened  herd  of  antelopes  suddenly  checks  its  wild 
course;  the  knife  of  the  shepherd  cutting  the  sheep's 
throat  falls  from  his  hand ;  the  rapacious  ermine  ceases  to 
stalk  the  unsuspecting  saiga.  All  living  beings  in  fear 
are  involuntarily  thrown  into  prayer  and  waiting  for  their 
fate.  So  it  was  just  now.  Thus  it  has  always  been  when- 
ever the  King  of  the  World  in  his  subterranean  palace 
prays  and  searches  out  the  destiny  of  all  peoples  on  the 
earth." 

In  this  wise  the  old  Mongol,  a  simple,  coarse  shepherd 
and  hunter,  spoke  to  me. 

Mongolia  with  her  nude  and  terrible  mountains,  her 
limitless  plains,  covered  with  the  widely  strewn  bones  of 
the  forefathers,  gave  birth  to  Mystery.  Her  people, 
frightened  by  the  stormy  passions  of  Nature  or  lulled  by 
her  deathlike  peace,  feel  her  mystery.  Her  "Red"  and 
"Yellow  Lamas"  preserve  and  poetize  her  mystery.  The 
Pontiffs  of  Lhasa  and  Urga  know  and  possess  her 
mystery. 

On  my  journey  into  Central  Asia  I  came  to  know  for 
the  first  time  about  "the  Mystery  of  Mysteries,"  which 
I  can  call  by  no  other  name.  At  the  outset  I  did  not  pay 
much  attention  to  it  and  did  not  attach  to  it  such  im- 


THE  SUBTERRANEAN  KINGDOM  301 

portance  as  I  afterwards  realized  belonged  to  it,  when 
I  had  analyzed  and  connoted  many  sporadic,  hazy  and 
often  controversial  bits  of  evidence. 

The  old  people  on  the  shore  of  the  River  Amyl  re- 
lated to  me  an  ancient  legend  to  the  effect  that  a  certain 
Mongolian  tribe  in  their  escape  from  the  demands  of 
Jenghiz  Khan  hid  themselves  in  a  subterranean  country. 
Afterwards  a  Soyot  from  near  the  Lake  of  Nogan  Kul 
showed  me  the  smoking  gate  that  serves  as  the  entrance 
to  the  "Kingdom  of  Agharti."  Through  this  gate  a 
hunter  formerly  entered  into  the  Kingdom  and,  after  his 
return,  began  to  relate  what  he  had  seen  there.  The 
Lamas  cut  out  his  tongue  in  order  to  prevent  him  from 
telling  about  the  Mystery  of  Mysteries.  When  he  arrived 
at  old  age,  he  came  back  to  the  entrance  of  this  cave  and 
disappeared  into  the  subterranean  kingdom,  the  memory 
of  which  had  ornamented  and  lightened  his  nomad  heart. 

I  received  more  realistic  information  about  this  from 
Hutuktu  Jelyb  Djamsrap  in  Narabanchi  Kure.  He  told 
me  the  story  of  the  semi-realistic  arrival  of  the  powerful 
King  of  the  World  from  the  subterranean  kingdom,  of 
his  appearance,  of  his  miracles  and  of  his  prophecies; 
and  only  then  did  I  begin  to  understand  that  in  that 
legend,  hypnosis  or  mass  vision,  whichever  it  may  be, 
is  hidden  not  only  mystery  but  a  realistic  and  powerful 
force  capable  of  influencing  the  course  of  the  political 
life  of  Asia.  From  that  moment  I  began  making  some 
investigations. 

The  favorite  Gelong  Lama  of  Prince  Chultun  Beyli 
and  the  Prince  himself  gave  me  an  account  of  the  sub- 
terranean kingdom. 

"Everything  in  the  world,"  said  the  Gelong,  "is  con- 


302  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

stantly  in  a  state  of  change  and  transition — peoples, 
science,  religions,  laws  and  customs.  How  many  great 
empires  and  brilliant  cultures  have  perished!  And  that 
alone  which  remains  unchanged  is  Evil,  the  tool  of  Bad 
Spirits.  More  than  sixty  thousand  years  ago  a  Holyman 
disappeared  with  a  whole  tribe  of  people  under  the 
ground  and  never  appeared  again  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth.  Many  people,  however,  have  since  visited  this 
kingdom,  Sakkia  Mouni,  Undur  Gheghen,  Paspa,  Khan 
Baber  and  others.  No  one  knows  where  this  place  is. 
One  says  Afghanistan,  others  India.  All  the  people  there 
are  protected  against  Evil  and  crimes  do  not  exist  within 
its  bournes.  Science  has  there  developed  calmly  and 
nothing  is  threatened  with  destruction.  The  subterra- 
nean people  have  reached  the  highest  knowledge.  Now 
it  is  a  large  kingdom,  miUions  of  men  with  the  King  of 
the  World  as  their  ruler.  He  knows  all  the  forces  of 
the  world  and  reads  all  the  souls  of  humankind  and  the 
great  book  of  their  destiny.  Invisibly  he  rules  eight  hun- 
dred million  men  on  the  surface  of  the  earth  and  they 
will  accomplish  his  every  order." 

Prince  Chultun  Beyli  added:  "This  kingdom  is  Agharti. 
It  extends  throughout  all  the  subterranean  passages  of 
the  whole  world.  I  heard  a  learned  Lama  of  China  re- 
lating to  Bogdo  Khan  that  all  the  subterranean  caves  of 
America  are  inhabited  by  the  ancient  people  who  have 
disappeared  underground.  Traces  of  them  are  still  found 
on  the  surface  of  the  land.  These  subterranean  peoples 
and  spaces  are  governed  by  rulers  owing  allegiance  to 
the  King  of  the  World.  In  it  there  is  not  much  of  the 
wonderful.  You  know  that  in  the  two  greatest  oceans 
of  the  east  and  the  west  there  were  formerly  two  con- 


THE  SUBTERRANEAN   KINGDOM  303 

tinents.  They  disappeared  under  the  water  but  their 
people  went  into  the  subterranean  kingdom.  In  under- 
ground caves  there  exists  a  peculiar  light  which  affords 
growth  to  the  grains  and  vegetables  and  long  life  without 
disease  to  the  people.  There  are  many  different  peoples 
and  many  different  tribes.  An  old  Buddhist  Brahman  in 
Nepal  was  carrying  out  the  will  of  the  Gods  in  making 
a  visit  to  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Jenghiz, — Siam, — 
where  he  met  a  fisherman  who  ordered  him  to  take  a 
place  in  his  boat  and  sail  with  him  upon  the  sea.  On 
the  third  day  they  reached  an  island  where  he  met  a 
people  having  two  tongues  which  could  speak  separately 
in  different  languages.  They  showed  to  him  peculiar, 
unfamiliar  animals,  tortoises  with  sixteen  feet  and  one 
eye,  huge  snakes  with  a  very  tasty  flesh  and  birds  with 
teeth  which  caught  fish  for  their  masters  in  the  sea. 
These  people  told  him  that  they  had  come  up  out  of  the 
subterranean  kingdom  and  described  to  him  certain  parts 
of  the  underground  country." 

The  Lama  Turgut  traveling  with  me  from  Urga  to 
Peking  gave  me  further  details. 

"The  capital  of  Agharti  is  surrounded  with  towns  of 
high  priests  and  scientists.  It  reminds  one  of  Lhasa  where 
the  palace  of  the  Dalai  Lama,  the  Potala,  is  the  top  of  a 
mountain  covered  with  monasteries  and  temples.  The 
throne  of  the  King  of  the  World  is  surrounded  by  mil- 
lions of  incarnated  Gods.  They  are  the  Holy  Panditas. 
The  palace  itself  is  encircled  by  the  palaces  of  the  Goro, 
who  possess  all  the  visible  and  invisible  forces  of  the 
earth,  of  inferno  and  of  the  sky  and  who  can  do  every- 
thing for  the  life  and  death  of  man.  If  our  mad  human- 
kind should  begin  a  war  against  them,  they  would  be 


304  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

able  to  explode  the  whole  surface  of  our  planet  and 
transform  it  into  deserts.  They  can  dry  up  the  seas, 
transform  lands  into  oceans  and  scatter  the  mountains 
into  the  sands  of  the  deserts.  By  his  order  trees,  grasses 
and  bushes  can  be  made  to  grow;  old  and  feeble  men 
can  become  young  and  stalwart;  and  the  dead  can  be 
resurrected.  In  cars  strange  and  unknown  to  us  they 
rush  through  the  narrow  cleavages  inside  our  planet. 
Some  Indian  Brahmans  and  Tibetan  Dalai  Lamas  dur- 
ing their  laborious  struggles  to  the  peaks  of  mountains 
which  no  other  human  feet  had  trod  have  found  there 
inscriptions  carved  on  the  rocks,  footprints  in  the  snow 
and  the  tracks  of  wheels.  The  blissful  Sakkia  Mouni 
found  on  one  mountain  top  tablets  of  stone  carrying 
words  which  he  only  understood  in  his  old  age  and  after- 
wards penetrated  into  the  Kingdom  of  Agharti,  from 
which  he  brought  back  crumbs  of  the  sacred  learning 
preserved  in  his  memory.  There  in  palaces  of  wonderful 
crystal  live  the  invisible  rulers  of  all  pious  people,  the 
King  of  the  World  or  Brahytma,  who  can  speak  with 
God  as  I  speak  with  you,  and  his  two  assistants,  Mahyt- 
ma,  knowing  the  purposes  of  future  events,  and 
Mahynga,  ruling  the  causes  of  these  events." 

"The  Holy  Panditas  study  the  world  and  all  its  forces. 
Sometimes  the  most  learned  among  them  collect  together 
and  send  envoys  to  that  place  where  the  human  eyes  have 
never  penetrated.  This  is  described  by  the  Tashi  Lama 
living  eight  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  The  highest 
Panditas  place  tlieir  hands  on  their  eyes  and  at  the  base 
of  the  brain  of  younger  ones  and  force  them  into  a  deep 
sleep,  wash  their  bodies  with  an  infusion  of  grass  and 


THE  SUBTERRANEAN   KINGDOM  305 

make  them  immune  to  pain  and  harder  than  stones,  wrap 
them  in  magic  cloths,  bind  them  and  then  pray  to  the 
Great  God.  The  petrified  youths  he  with  eyes  and  ears 
open  and  alert,  seeing,  hearing  and  remembering  every- 
thing. Afterwards  a  Goro  approaches  and  fastens  a 
long,  steady  gaze  upon  them.  Very  slowly  the  bodies 
lift  themselves  from  the  earth  and  disappear.  The  Goro 
sits  and  stares  with  fixed  eyes  to  the  place  whither  he 
has  sent  them.  Invisible  threads  join  them  to  his  will. 
Some  of  them  course  among  the  stars,  observe  their 
events,  their  unknown  peoples,  their  life  and  their  laws. 
They  listen  to  their  talk,  read  their  books,  understand 
their  fortunes  and  woes,  their  holiness  and  sins,  their 
piety  and  evil.  Some  are  mingled  with  flame  and  see  the 
creature  of  fire,  quick  and  ferocious,  eternally  fighting, 
melting  and  hammering  metals  in  the  depths  of  planets, 
boiling  the  water  for  geysers  and  springs,  melting  the 
rocks  and  pushing  out  molten  streams  over  the  surface 
of  the  earth  through  the  holes  in  the  mountains.  Others 
rush  together  with  the  ever  elusive,  infinitesimally  small, 
transparent  creatures  of  the  air  and  penetrate  into  the 
mysteries  of  their  existence  and  into  the  purposes  of  their 
life.  Others  slip  into  the  depths  of  the  seas  and  observe 
the  kingdom  of  the  wise  creatures  of  the  water,  who 
transport  and  spread  genial  warmth  all  over  the  earth, 
ruling  the  winds,  waves  and  storms.  ...  In  Erdeni  Dzu 
formerly  lived  Pandita  Hutuktu,  who  had  come  from 
Agharti.  As  he  was  dying,  he  told  about  the  time  when 
he  lived  according  to  the  will  of  the  Goro  on  a  red  star 
in  the  east,  floated  in  the  ice-covered  ocean  and  flew 
among  the  stormy  fires  in  the  depths  of  the  earth." 


3o6  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

These  are  the  tales  which  I  heard  In  the  Mongolian 
yurtas  of  Princes  and  in  the  Lamaite  monasteries.  These 
stories  were  all  related  in  a  solemn  tone  which  forbade 
challenge  and  doubt. 

Mystery.  .  .  „ 


CHAPTER  XLVII 

THE  KING  OF  THE  WORLD  BEFORE  THE 
FACE  OF  GOD 

DURING  my  stay  in  Urga  I  tried  to  find  an  explana- 
tion of  this  legend  about  the  King  of  the  World. 
Of  course,  the  Living  Buddha  could  tell  me  most  of  all 
and  so  I  endeavored  to  get  the  story  from  him.  In  a 
conversation  with  him  I  mentioned  the  name  of  the  King 
of  the  World.  The  old  Pontiff  sharply  turned  his  head 
toward  me  and  fixed  upon  me  his  immobile,  blind  eyes. 
Unwillingly  I  became  silent.  Our  silence  was  a  long  one 
and  after  it  the  Pontiff  continued  the  conversation  in 
such  a  way  that  I  understood  he  did  not  wish  to  accept 
the  suggestion  of  my  reference.  On  the  faces  of  the 
others  present  I  noticed  expressions  of  astonishment  and 
fear  produced  by  my  words,  and  especially  was  this  true 
of  the  custodian  of  the  library  of  the  Bogdo  Khan.  One 
can  readily  understand  that  all  this  only  made  me  the 
more  anxious  to  press  the  pursuit. 

As  I  was  leaving  the  study  of  the  Bogdo  Hutuktu,  I 
met  the  librarian  who  had  stepped  out  ahead  of  me  and 
asked  him  if  he  would  show  me  the  library  of  the  Living 
Buddha  and  used  a  very  simple,  sly  trick  with  him. 

"Do  you  know,  my  dear  Lama,"  I  said,  "once  I  rode 
in  the  plain  at  the  hour  when  the  King  of  the  World  spoke 

307 


3o8  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

with  God  and  I  felt  the  impressive  majesty  of  this 
moment." 

To  my  astonishment  the  old  Lama  very  quietly  an- 
swered me:  "It  is  not  right  that  the  Buddhist  and  our 
Yellow  Faith  should  conceal  it.  The  acknowledgment 
of  the  existence  of  the  most  holy  and  most  powerful  man, 
of  the  blissful  kingdom,  of  the  great  temple  of  sacred 
science  is  such  a  consolation  to  our  sinful  hearts  and  our 
corrupt  lives  that  to  conceal  it  from  humankind  is  a  sin. 
.  .  .  Well,  listen,*'  he  continued,  "throughout  the  whole 
year  the  King  of  the  World  guides  the  work  of  the 
Panditas  and  Goros  of  Agharti.  Only  at  times  he  goes 
to  the  temple  cave  where  the  embalmed  body  of  his  pre- 
decessor lies  in  a  black  stone  coffin.  This  cave  is  always 
dark,  but  when  the  King  of  the  World  enters  it  the 
walls  are  striped  with  fire  and  from  the  lid  of  the  coffin 
appear  tongues  of  flame.  The  eldest  Goro  stands  before 
him  with  covered  head  and  face  and  with  hands  folded 
across  his  chest.  This  Goro  never  removes  the  cover- 
ing from  his  face,  for  his  head  is  a  nude  skull  with  living 
eyes  and  a  tongue  that  speaks.  He  is  in  communion  with 
the  souls  of  all  who  have  gone  before. 

"The  King  of  the  World  prays  for  a  long  time  and 
afterwards  approaches  the  coffin  and  stretches  out  his 
hand.  The  flames  thereon  burn  brighter;  the  stripes  of 
fire  on  the  walls  disappear  and  revive,  interlace  and  form 
mysterious  signs  from  the  alphabet  vatannan.  From  the 
coffin  transparent  bands  of  scarcely  noticeable  light  begin 
to  flow  forth.  These  are  the  thoughts  of  his  predecessor. 
Soon  the  King  of  the  World  stands  surrounded  by  an 
auriole  of  this  light  and  fiery  letters  write  and  write  upon 
the  walls  the  wishes  and  orders  of  God.    At  this  moment 


THE  KING  OF  THE  WORLD  309 

the  King  of  the  World  is  in  contact  with  the  thoughts 
of  all  the  men  who  influence  the  lot  and  life  of  all  human- 
kind: with  Kings,  Czars,  Khans,  warlike  leaders,  High 
Priests,  scientists  and  other  strong  men.  He  realizes  all 
their  thoughts  and  plans.  If  these  be  pleasing  before 
God,  the  King  of  the  World  will  invisibly  help  them; 
if  they  are  unpleasant  in  the  sight  of  God,  the  King 
will  bring  them  to  destruction.  This  power  is  given  to 
Agharti  by  the  mysterious  science  of  'Om,'  with  which 
we  begin  all  our  prayers.  *0m'  is  the  name  of  an  ancient 
Holyman,  the  first  Goro,  who  lived  three  hundred  thirty 
thousand  years  ago.  He  was  the  first  man  to  know  God 
and  who  taught  humankind  to  believe,  hope  and  struggle 
with  Evil.  Then  God  gave  him  power  over  all  forces 
ruling  the  visible  world. 

"After  his  conversation  with  his  predecessor  the  King 
of  the  World  assembles  the  'Great  Council  of  God,* 
judges  the  actions  and  thoughts  of  great  men,  helps  them 
or  destroys  them.  Mahytma  and  Mahynga  find  the  place 
for  these  actions  and  thoughts  in  the  causes  ruling  the 
world.  Afterwards  the  King  of  the  World  enters  the 
great  temple  and  prays  in  solitude.  Fire  appears  on  the 
altar,  gradually  spreading  to  all  the  altars  near,  and 
through  the  burning  flame  gradually  appears  the  face  of 
God.  The  King  of  the  World  reverently  announces  to 
God  the  decisions  and  awards  of  the  'Council  of  God' 
and  receives  in  turn  the  Divine  orders  of  the  Almighty. 
As  he  comes  forth  from  the  temple,  the  King  of  the 
World  radiates  with  Divine  Light." 


CHAPTER  XLVIII 
REALITY  OR  RELIGIOUS  FANTASY? 

**T  TAS   anybody  seen   the  King  of  the  World?"   I 

•*•  ■■■  asked. 

"Oh,  yes!"  answered  the  Lama.  "During  the  solemn 
holidays  of  the  ancient  Buddhism  in  Siam  and  India  the 
King  of  the  World  appeared  five  times.  He  rode  in  a 
splendid  car  drawn  by  white  elephants  and  ornamented 
with  gold,  precious  stones  and  finest  fabrics ;  he  was  robed 
in  a  white  mantle  and  red  tiara  with  strings  of  diamonds 
masking  his  face.  He  blessed  the  people  with  a  golden 
apple  with  the  figure  of  a  Lamb  above  it.  The  blind 
received  their  sight,  the  dumb  spoke,  the  deaf  heard,  the 
crippled  freely  moved  and  the  dead  arose,  wherever  the 
eyes  of  the  King  of  the  World  rested.  He  also  appeared 
five  hundred  and  forty  years  ago  in  Erdeni  Dzu,  he  was 
in  the  ancient  Sakkai  Monastery  and  in  the  Narabanchi 
Kure. 

"One  of  our  Living  Buddhas  and  one  of  the  Tashi 
Lamas  received  a  message  from  him,  written  with  un- 
known signs  on  golden  tablets.  No  one  could  read  these 
signs.  The  Tashi  Lama  entered  the  temple,  placed  the 
golden  tablet  on  his  head  and  began  to  pray.  With  this 
the  thoughts  of  the  King  of  the  World  penetrated  his 
brain  and,  without  having  read  the  enigmatical  signs,  he 
understood  and  accomplished  the  message  of  the  King." 

310 


REALITY  OR  RELIGIOUS  FANTASY?        311 

"How  many  persons  have  ever  been  to  Agharti?"  I 
questioned  him. 

"Very  many,"  answered  the  Lama,  "but  all  these 
people  have  kept  secret  that  which  they  saw  there.  When 
the  Olets  destroyed  Lhasa,  one  of  their  detachments  in 
the  southwestern  mountains  penetrated  to  the  outskirts 
of  Agharti.  Here  they  learned  some  of  the  lesser  mys- 
terious sciences  and  brought  them  to  the  surface  of  our 
earth.  This  is  why  the  Olets  and  Kalmucks  are  artful 
sorcerers  and  prophets.  Also  from  the  eastern  country 
some  tribes  of  black  people  penetrated  to  Agharti  and 
lived  there  many  centuries.  Afterwards  they  were  thrust 
out  from  the  kingdom  and  returned  to  the  earth,  bring- 
ing with  them  the  mystery  of  predictions  according  to 
cards,  grasses  and  the  lines  of  the  palm.  They  are  the 
Gypsies.  .  .  .  Somewhere  in  the  north  of  Asia  a  tribe 
exists  which  is  now  dying  and  which  came  from  the  cave 
of  Agharti,  skilled  in  calling  back  the  spirits  of  the  dead 
as  they  float  through  the  air." 

The  Lama  was  silent  and  afterwards,  as  though  an- 
swering my  thoughts,  continued. 

"In  Agharti  the  learned  Panditas  write  on  tablets  of 
stone  all  the  science  of  our  planet  and  of  the  other  worlds. 
The  Chinese  learned  Buddhists  know  this.  Their  science 
is  the  highest  and  purest.  Every  century  one  hundred 
sages  of  China  collect  in  a  secret  place  on  the  shores  of 
the  sea,  where  from  its  depths  come  out  one  hundred 
eternally-living  tortoises.  On  their  shells  the  Chinese 
write  all  the  developments  of  the  divine  science  of  the 
century." 

As  I  write  I  am  involuntarily  reminded  of  a  tale  of 
an  old  Chinese  bonze  in  the  Temple  of  Heaven  at  Peking. 


312  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

He  told  me  that  tortoises  live  more  than  three  thousand 
years  without  food  and  air  and  that  this  is  the  reason 
why  all  the  columns  of  the  blue  Temple  of  Heaven  were 
set  on  live  tortoises  to  preserve  the  wood  from  decay. 

"Several  times  the  Pontiffs  of  Lhasa  and  Urga  have 
sent  envoys  to  the  King  of  the  World,"  said  the  Lama 
librarian,  "but  they  could  not  find  him.  Only  a  certain 
Tibetan  leader  after  a  battle  with  the  Olets  found  the 
cave  with  the  inscription:  'This  is  the  gate  to  Agharti.' 
From  the  cave  a  fine  appearing  man  came  forth,  pre- 
sented him  with  a  gold  tablet  bearing  the  mysterious  signs 
and  said: 

"  'The  King  of  the  World  will  appear  before  all  people 
when  the  time  shall  have  arrived  for  him  to  lead  all  the 
good  people  of  the  world  against  all  the  bad;  but  this 
time  has  not  yet  come.  The  most  evil  among  mankind 
have  not  yet  been  born.' 

"Chiang  Chiin  Baron  Ungern  sent  the  young  Prince 
Pounzig  to  seek  out  the  King  of  the  World  but  he  re- 
turned with  a  letter  from  the  Dalai  Lama  from  Lhasa. 
When  the  Baron  sent  him  a  second  time,  he  did  not  come 
back." 


CHAPTER  XLIX 

THE  PROPHECY  OF  THE  KING  OF  THE 
WORLD  IN  1890 

THE  Hutuktu  of  Narabanchi  related  the  following 
to  me,  when  I  visited  him  in  his  monastery  in  the 
beginning  of  1921: 

"When  the  King  of  the  World  appeared  before  the 
Lamas,  favored  of  God,  in  this  monastery  thirty  years 
ago  he  made  a  prophecy  for  the  coming  half  century. 
It  was  as  follows: 

"  'More  and  more  the  people  will  forget  their  souls 
and  care  about  their  bodies.  The  greatest  sin  and  cor- 
ruption will  reign  on  the  earth.  People  will  become  as 
ferocious  animals,  thirsting  for  the  blood  and  death  of 
their  brothers.  The  'Crescent'  will  grow  dim  and  its  fol- 
lowers will  descend  into  beggary  and  ceaseless  war.  Its 
conquerors  will  be  stricken  by  the  sun  but  will  not  pro- 
gress upward  and  twice  they  will  be  visited  with  the 
heaviest  misfortune,  which  will  end  in  insult  before  the 
eye  of  the  other  peoples.  The  crowns  of  kings,  great 
and  small,  will  fall  .  .  .  one,  two,  three,  four,  five,  six, 
seven,  eight.  .  .  .  There  will  be  a  terrible  battle  among 
all  the  peoples.  The  seas  will  become  red  .  .  .  the  earth 
and  the  bottom  of  the  seas  will  be  strewn  with  bones  .  .  . 
kingdoms  will  be  scattered  .  .  .  whole  peoples  will  die 
.  .  .  hunger,  disease,  crimes  unknown  to  the  law,  never 
before  seen  in  the  world.     The  enemies  of  God  and  of 

313 


314  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

the  Divine  Spirit  in  man  will  come.  Those  who  take 
the  hand  of  another  shall  also  perish.  The  forgotten  and 
pursued  shall  rise  and  hold  the  attention  of  the  whole 
world.  There  will  be  fogs  and  storms.  Bare  mountains 
shall  suddenly  be  covered  with  forests.  Earthquakes  will 
come.  .  .  .  Millions  will  change  the  fetters  of  slavery 
and  humiliation  for  hunger,  disease  and  death.  The 
ancient  roads  will  be  covered  with  crowds  wandering 
from  one  place  to  another.  The  greatest  and  most  beauti- 
ful cities  shall  perish  in  fire  .  .  .  one,  two,  three.  .  .  . 
Father  shall  rise  against  son,  brother  against  brother  and 
mother  against  daughter.  .  .  .  Vice,  crime  and  the  de- 
struction of  body  and  soul  shall  follow.  .  .  .  Families 
shall  be  scattered.  .  .  .  Truth  and  love  shall  disappear. 
.  .  .  From  ten  thousand  men  one  shall  remain ;  he  shall  be 
nude  and  mad  and  without  force  and  the  knowledge  to 
build  him  a  house  and  find  his  food.  .  .  .  He  will  howl 
as  the  raging  wolf,  devour  dead  bodies,  bite  his  own  flesh 
and  challenge  God  to  fight.  .  .  .  All  the  earth  will  be 
emptied.  God  will  turn  away  from  it  and  over  it  there 
will  be  only  night  and  death.  Then  I  shall  send  a  people, 
now  unknown,  which  shall  tear  out  the  weeds  of  mad- 
ness and  vice  with  a  strong  hand  and  will  lead  those  who 
still  remain  faithful  to  the  spirit  of  man  in  the  fight 
against  Evil.  They  will  found  a  new  Hfe  on  the  earth 
purified  by  the  death  of  nations.  In  the  fiftieth  year 
only  three  great  kingdoms  will  appear,  which  will  exist 
happily  seventy-one  years.  Afterwards  there  will  be 
eighteen  years  of  war  and  destruction.  Then  the  peoples 
of  Agharti  will  come  up  from  their  subterranean  caverns 
to  the  surface  of  the  earth.'  " 


THE  PROPHECY  OF  THE  KING  315 

Afterwards,  as  I  traveled  farther  through  Eastern 
Mongolia  and  to  Peking,  I  often  thought: 

"And  what  if  .  .  .?  What  if  whole  peoples  of  differ- 
ent colors,  faiths  and  tribes  should  begin  their  migration 
toward  the  West?" 

And  now,  as  I  write  these  final  lines,  my  eyes  involun- 
tarily turn  to  this  limitless  Heart  of  Asia  over  which  the 
trails  of  my  wanderings  twine.  Through  whirling  snow 
and  driving  clouds  of  sand  of  the  Gobi  they  travel  back 
to  the  face  of  the  Narabanchi  Hutuktu  as,  with  quiet 
voice  and  a  slender  hand  pointing  to  the  horizon,  he 
opened  to  me  the  doors  of  his  innermost  thoughts: 

"Near  Karakorum  and  on  the  shores  of  Ubsa  Nor  I 
see  the  huge,  multi-colored  camps,  the  herds  of  horses 
and  cattle  and  the  blue  yurtas  of  the  leaders.  Above 
them  I  see  the  old  banners  of  Jenghiz  Khan,  of  the  Kings 
of  Tibet,  Siam,  Afghanistan  and  of  Indian  Princes;  the 
sacred  signs  of  all  the  Lamaite  Pontiffs ;  the  coats  of  arms 
of  the  Khans  of  the  Olets;  and  the  simple  signs  of  the 
north  Mongolian  tribes.  I  do  not  hear  the  noise  of  the 
animated  crowd.  The  singers  do  not  sing  the  mournful 
songs  of  mountain,  plain  and  desert.  The  young  riders 
are  not  delighting  themselves  with  the  races  on  their  fleet 
steeds.  .  .  .  There  are  innumerable  crowds  of  old  men, 
women  and  children  and  beyond  in  the  north  and  west, 
as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  the  sky  is  red  as  a  flame, 
there  is  the  roar  and  crackling  of  fire  and  the  ferocious 
sound  of  battle.  Who  is  leading  these  warriors  who  there 
beneath  the  reddened  sky  are  shedding  their  own  and 
others*  blood?  Who  is  leading  these  crowds  of  unarmed 
old  men  and  women?  I  see  severe  order,  deep  religious 
understanding  of  purposes,  patience  and  tenacity  ...  a 


3i6  BEASTS,   MEN  AND  GODS 

new  great  migration  of  peoples,  the  last  march  of  the 
Mongols.  .  .  ." 

Karma  may  have  opened  a  new  page  of  history ! 

And  what  if  the  King  of  the  World  be  with  them? 

But  this  greatest  Mystery  of  Mysteries  keeps  its  own 
deep  silence. 


GLOSSARY 

Agronome. — Russian  for  trained  agriculturalist. 

Amour  sayn. — Good-bye. 

Ataman. — Headman  or  chief  of  the  Cossacks. 

Bandi. — Pupil  or  student  of  theological  school  in  the  Buddhist  faith. 

Buriat — The  most  civilized  Mongol  tribe,  living  in  the  valley  of  the 
Selenga  in  Transbaikalia. 

Chahars. — A  warlike  Mongolian  tribe  living  along  the  Great  Wall 
of  China  in  Inner  Mongolia. 

Chaldje. — A  high  Lamaite  priest,  but  not  an  incarnate  god. 

Chcka. — The  Bolshevik  Counter-Revolutionary  Committee,  the 
most  relentless  establishment  of  the  Bolsheviki,  organized  for  the  per- 
secution of  the  enemies  of  the  Communistic  government  in  Russia. 

Chiang  Chiin. — Chinese  for  "  General  " — Chief  of  all  Chinese  troops 
in  Mongolia. 

Dalai  Lama. — The  first  and  highest  Pontiff  of  the  Lamaite  or 
"  Yellow  Faith,"  living  at  Lhasa  in  Tibet. 

Djungar. — A  West  Mongolian  tribe. 

Dogun. — Chinese  commercial  and  military  post. 

Dzuk. — Lie  down! 

Fang-tzu. — Chinese  for  "  house." 

Fatil. — A  very  rare  and  precious  root  much  prized  in  Chinese  and 
Tibetan  medicines. 

Felcher. — Assistant  of  a  doctor  (surgeon). 

Gelong. — Lamaite  priest  having  the  right  to  oflFer  sacrifices  to  God. 

Getul. — The  third  rank  in  the  Lamaite  monks. 

Goro. — The  high  priest  of  the  King  of  the  World. 

Hatyk. — An  oblong  piece  of  blue  (or  yellow)  silk  cloth,  presented 
to  honored  guests,  chiefs,  Lamas  and  gods.  Also  a  kind  of  coin,  worth 
from  25  to  50  cents. 

317 


3i8  GLOSSARY 

Hong. — ^A  Chinese  mercantile  establishment. 

Htm. — The  lowest  rank  of  princes. 

Hunghutze. — Chinese  brigand. 

Hushun. — ^A  fenced  enclosure,  containing  the  houses,  paddocks, 
stores,  stables,  etc.,  of  Russian  Cossacks  in  Mongolia. 

Hutuktu. — The  highest  rank  of  Lamaite  monks;  the  form  of  any 
incarnated  god;  holy. 

Imoiu-an. — ^A  small  rodent  like  a  gopher. 

Izubr. — The  American  elk. 

Kabarga. — The  musk  antelope. 

Kalmuck. — A  Mongolian  tribe,  which  migrated  from  Mongolia 
vinder  Jenghiz  Khan  (where  they  were  known  as  the  Olets  or  Eleuths), 
and  now  Hve  in  the  Urals  and  on  the  shores  of  the  Volga  in  Russia. 

Kanpo. — The  abbot  of  a  Lamaite  monastery,  a  monk;  also  the 
first  rank  of  "  white  "  clergy  (not  monks). 

Elanpo-Gelong. — The  highest  rank  of  Gelongs  (q.v.) ;  an  honorary 
title. 

Karma. — The  Buddhist  materialization  of  the  idea  of  Fate,  a  par- 
allel with  the  Greek  and  Roman  Nemesis  Qustice). 

Khan. — A  king. 

Khayrus. — ^A  kind  of  trout. 

KMrghiz. — The  great  Mongol  nation  living  between  the  river 
Irtish  in  western  Siberia,  Lake  BaUiash  and  the  Volga  in  Russia. 

Kuropatka. — ^A  partridge. 

Lama. — The  common  name  for  a  Lamaite  priest. 

Lan. — A  weight  of  silver  or  gold  equivalent  to  about  one-eleventh 
of  a  Russian  pound,  or  9/1  loths  of  a  pound  avoirdupois. 

Lanhon. — A  round  bottle  of  clay. 

Maramba. — ^A  doctor  of  theology. 

Merin. — The  civil  chief  of  police  in  every  district  of  the  Soyot 
country  in  Urianhai. 

"  Om!  Mani  padme  Hnngl". — "  Om  "  has  two  meanings.  It  is 
the  name  of  the  first  Goto  and  also  means:  "  Hail!  "  In  this  con- 
nection: "  Hail!  Great  Lama  in  the  Lotus  Flower!  " 

Mende. — Soyot  greeting — "  Good  Day." 


GLOSSARY  319 

Nagan-hushun. — ^A  Chinese  v^etable  garden  or  enclosure  in  Mon- 
golia. 

Naida. — A  form  oi  fire  used  by  Siberiaxi  woodsmen. 

Noyon. — A  Prince  or  Khan.  In  polite  address:  "  Chief,"  "  Excel- 
lency." 

Obo. — The  sacred  and  propitiatory  signs  in  all  the  dangerous  places 
in  Urianhai  and  MongoHa. 

Olets.— Vid:  Kalmudc. 

Om. — The  name  of  the  first  Goro  (q.v.)  and  also  of  the  mysterious, 
magic  science  of  the  Subterranean  State.     It  means,  also:   "  Hail!  " 

Orochons. — ^A  Mongolian  tribe,  living  near  the  shores  of  the  Amur 
River  in  Siberia. 

Oulatchen. — ^The  guard  for  the  post  horses;  official  guide. 

Ourton. — ^A  post  station,  where  the  travelers  change  horses  and 
otdatchens. 

Pandlta. — The  high  rank  of  Buddhist  monks. 

Panti. — Deer  horns  in  the  velvet,  highly  prized  as  a  Tibetan  and 
Chinese  medicine. 

Pogrom. — ^A  wholesale  slaughter  of  unarmed  people;  a  massacre. 

Paspa. — The  founder  of  the  Yellow  Sect,  predominating  now  in 
the  Lamaite  faith. 

Salt — A  Mongolian  governor. 

Saiga. — ^A  sand  partridge. 

Sayn.— "  Good  day!  "  "  Good  morning!  "  "  Good  evening!  "  All 
right;  good. 

Taiga. — A  Siberian  word  for  forest. 

Taimen. — ^A  species  of  big  trout,  reaching  120  poimds. 

Ta  Lama. — Literally:  "the  great  priest,"  but  it  means  now  "a 
doctor  of  medicine." 

Tashur. — A  strong  bamboo  stick. 

Turpan. — The  red  wild  goose  or  Lama-goose. 

Tzagan. — White. 

Tzara. — A  document,  giving  the  right  to  receive  horses  and  otdatchens 
at  the  post  stations. 

Tsirik. — Mongolian  soldiers  mobilized  by  levy. 

Tzuien. — A  doctor-poisoner. 


320  GLOSSARY 

Ulan.— Red. 

Urga. — The  name  of  the  capital  of  Mongolia;  (2)  a  kind  of  Mon- 
golian lasso. 

Vatannen. — The  language  of  the  Subterranean  State  of  the  King 
of  the  World. 

Wapiti. — The  American  elk. 

Yurta. — The  common  Mongolian  tent  or  house,  made  of  felt. 

Zahachine. — ^A  West  Mongolian  wandering  tribe. 

Zaberega. — The  ice-mountains  formed  along  the  shores  of  a  river 
in  spring. 

Zikkurat. — ^A  high  tower  of  Babylonish  style. 


INDEX 


Abakan  Tartars,  47 

Adair  River,  130,  146 

Afghanistan,  302 

Agharti,  Kingdom  of,  118,  301,  et 

seq. 
Alexander  I.,  Czar,  289 
Algiak,  41 
Altai  Region,  83 
Altyn  Tag  Mountains,  88 
Amida,  Statues  of,  259 
Amitabha,  Buddha,  273 
Amursana,  Khan  of  the  Olets,  285 
Amyl  River,  33,  36,  38 
AnnenkoflF,  Ataman,  166 
Arctic  Ocean,  3,  27 
Aroung  Nor,  92 

Baber,  Sultan,  265,  302 

Baga  Nor,  1 1 1 

Bakitch,  General,  6r,  166 

Balir,  EHstrict  of,  84 

Balma  Dorji,  Hon.,  230 

Barga,  207 

Baroim  Kure,  198 

Barsky,  Captain,  168 

Barun  Abaga  Nar,  Lama,  278 

Batur  Hun  Taiga,  Khan,  273 

Baysei,  Prince,  135 

Bei  Kem  River,  275 

Belotzarsk,  52 

Beltis  Van,  Prince,  188 

Bezrodnoff,  Captain,  158,  et  seq. 

Biisk,  143 


Blagoveschensk,  163 

Bobroff,  141,  168 

Bogdo  Khan,  10 1,  107,  e/  seq. 
Also    called:     Living    Buddha, 
Bogdo  Gheghen,  Bogdo  Djebt- 
sung  Damba,  Hutuktu  Khan. 

Bogdo-01  Mountain,  231,  294 

Boldon,  Hun,  119,  171,  175,  et  seq. 

Bolsheviki,  5,  16,  et  seq. 

Boro  Mountains,  84 

Bourdukoflf,  166 

Boyagol  River,  126 

Brahmans,  273 

Brahmaputra  River,  84 

Brahytma  (see  King  of  the  World) 

Buddha,  179,  et  seq. 

Buddha,  The,  Living   (see  Bogdo 
Khan) 

Buret  Hei,  57 

Buriats,  108 

Buyantu,  Hutuktu,  188 

Chahars,  114,  et  seq. 

Chan-ra-zi,  273 

Cheka,  The,  28,  34,  et  seq. 

Cheng  Yi,  General,  108 

ChestiakofiF,  267 

Chien  Men  of  Peking,  128 

Chita,  105 

Chu  Chi-hsiang,  General,  108 

Chultim  Beyle,  Prince,  109,  165, 

168,  el  seq. 
Cossacks,  5,  28,  150 


321 


322 


INDEX 


Daban,  51 

Daichin  Van,  218 

Dalai  Lama,  96,  177,  199 

Damcharen,  202 

Darkhat  Ola  Mountains,  75 

Daunichi-Buddha,  259 

Djam  Bolon,  Prince,  108,  263,  et 

seq. 
Djirgalantu,  194 
Djonkapa,  loi 
Djungar,  270 
Dolo  Nor,  277 
DomojirofE,  Colonel  V.  N.,   171, 

173,  182,  et  seq. 
Doptx:hin  Djamtso,  Hun,  204 
Dorchiul-Jurdok,  Lama,  278 
Dorogostaisky,  Prof.,  148 
Dulan  Kitt,  90 
Dzain,  Monastery  of,  168 
Dzaphin  River,  1 1 1 

Egingol  River,  80,  147,  152 
Emil  River,  61 
Erdeni  Dzu,  198,  305 
Ero  River,  85 

Freimann,  166,  168 
Fu  Hsiang,  Chinese  advisor,  109, 
167 

Gangyn  Mountains,  231 
Gavronsky,  13,  17 
Gay,  Dr.  V.  G.,  149,  220 
Gegyl  Mountains,  231 
Gelong  Lama,  301 
Gobi  Desert,  83,  et  seq 
Goto,  The,  303 
Gorokoff,  141 
Gushi,  Khan,  273,  284 

Hamshan  Mountain  Pass,  91 


Hargana,  124 
Hotel,  259 
Hoto-Zaidam,  201 
Hubilgan,  200,  201,  278,  292 
Hubsugul  (Lake  Kosogol)  147 
Huntu  Mountains,  231 
Hutuktu,  96,  et  seq. 

Irkutsk,  79,  104 
Ivanoflf,  Lieutenant,  155 

Jagisstai  Pass,  126,  et  seq. 
Jahantsi,   Hutuktu,   259,   278,   et 

seq. 
Jahantsi  Kure,  127,  139,  et  seq. 
Jap  Lama,  Hun,  168,  170,  et  seq. 
Jassaktu  Khan,  Lama,  83,  84,  169, 

290 
Jdanoff ,  267 
Jelyb  Djamsrap,  Hutuktu,  86,  97, 

172 
Jenghiz  Khan,  32,  62,  loi,  119, 

127,  193 
Jukoflf,  Colonel,  61 

Kaigorsdoff,  83,  112,  166 
Kalgan,  187 
Kameneff,  183 
Kanine,  140,  168 
Kanpo-Gelong,  261 
Kansu,  Province  of,  83 
Karakhorum  Mountains,  88 
Karakorum,  138,  198,  283 
Karasu  Togol,  193 
Karatuz,  35,  36 
KarUk  Tag  Mountains,  87 
Karma,  266,  269,  296,  316 
Kazagrandi,  Colonel,  83,  108,  122, 

143, 148, 154, 167 
Kemchik,  62,  275 
Kerulen  River,  108 


INDEX 


323 


Khalkha,  106 

Khara  Moiintains,  84 

Khara-Bolgasun,  201 

Kharga  River,  63 

Khathyl,  79,  140,  et  seq. 

Khazahudvik,  268 

Kiakhta,  83,  105,  et  seq. 

King  of  the  World,  179,  303,  et  seq. 

{see  Brahytma) 
Kirghiz,  114 

Klizill-Kaiya  Mountains,  32 
Kobdo,  61,  104,  et  seq. 
Koko  Nor,  84,  104 
Kolchak,  Admiral,  28,  143 
Kolchak  Government,  30 
Kosogol  Lake,  56,  105,  et  seq. 
Krafciieno,  33 
Krasnoyarsk,  3,  27,  33 
Kublai  Khan,  loi,  194,  198 
Kuku-Hoto,  125,  187 
Kuldja,  166 
Kusmitch,  Feodor,  289 
Kwannon,  259 
Kweihuacheng,  187 
Kzudener,  Baroness,  289 

Lhasa,  96,  115,  et  seq. 
Living  Buddha,  The,  {see  Bogdo 
Khan) 

Ma-Chu  River,  92 
Mahomed  Spirin,  97 
Mahynga,  304 
Mahytma,  304 
Maimachen,  109 
Maklakoff,  Colonel,  154 
Mana  River,  12 
Mang:u,  Khan,  202 
Meetchik-Atak,  Maramba,  198 
Michailoff,  Lieut.  Col.  M.  M.,  109, 
168,  171,  et  seq. 


Minnusinsk,  27,  28-34 
Moon,  Island  of,  219 
Muren  Kure,  79,  et  seq. 

Nansen,  3 

Nan  Shan  Movintains,  88 

Narabanchi,    Monastery    of,    86, 

104,  et  seq. 
Naron  Khuhu  Gobi,  84 
Nogan  Kul,  Lake,  301 
Noskoff,  248 
Novak,  166,  168 
Novontziran,  Prince,  iii 

Olets,  188 

Olufsen,  E,  V.,  263,  267 
Orgarkha  Ola  Moimtains,  79 
Orkhon  River,  213,  228 
Orochons,  275 
Ostrovsky,  Colonel,  52,  76 
Oyna  River,  64 

Pamir,  88,  204 

Pandita  Gheghen   of   Dolo   Nor, 

277 
Pandita  Hutuktu,  Gheghen,  198 
Paspa,  loi,  274,  302 
Pepelaieff,  General,  32 
Petrograd,  24 
Philipofif,  Colonel  N.  N.,  183,  et 

seq. 
Rsarjev^cy,  Lieut.,  97 
Plavako,  Colonel,  154 
Poletika,  Colonel,  183,  187,  et  seq. 
Potala  {see  Lhasa) 
Poimzig,  Prince,  96,  312 
PouzikofiF,  143,  168 

Rama,  loi 

Revolutionary  Committee,  4 

Rezukhin,  General,  219,  rt  seq. 


324 


INDEX 


Sain  Noion  Khan,  169,  293 
Sakkia  Mouni,  loi,  283,  302 
SaltikoflF,  166,  168 
Samgaltai,  56,  141,  145 
Sayan  Mountains,  33,  38,  loi 
Schetinkin,  33 
Selenga  River,  82,  105 
Sepailoff,    Colonel,    233,    234,   et 

seq. 
Seybi  River,  Battle  of  the,  42,  49, 

et  seq. 
Sharkhe,  Monastery  of,  89,  90 
Sifkova,  24,  26 
Sinkiang,  166 

Soldjak,  Principality  of,  62,  64 
Soukhoum  K^le  in  the  Caucasus, 

203 
Soyots,  42,  ei  seq. 
Strigine,  Lieut.  176,  182,  183 
Strongtsan,   King  of  Tibet,  274, 

284 
Suchow,  Chinese  town  of,  84 
Sutunin,  Ataman,  82 

Ta  Kure,   loi,  232,  et  seq.   (see 

Urga) 
Tamerlane-Temur,  32,  204 
Tangri  Nor,  291 
Tannu  Ola  Mountains,  56 
Tarbagatai  Mountains,  126 
Ta-Rimpo-Cha,  Maramba,  277 
Tashi  Lama,  118,  178,  277,  290, 

291,  304.    Also  called:    Tashi 

Lumpo,  Erdeni. 
Ta  Sin  Lo,  127,  et  seq. 
Tassoun  Lake,  90 
Tatsa  Gol,  204 
Teri  Nor,  71 

Tetemikoff,  D.  A.,  153,  154 
Tian  Shan  Motmtains,  loi 
Tibet,  83,  et  seq. 


Tisingol  Lake,  139,  et  seq. 

Todji,  Noyon  of,  58 

Tola  River,  109 

Tomsk,  289 

Toupsei  in  the  Caucasus,  203 

Transbaikalia,  12,  13,  108,  et  seq. 

Tropoff ,  24 

Tsinilla,  wife   of   Khan  Mangu, 

202 
Tuba  River,  33,  34,  124,  et  seq. 
Turgut,  Lama,  263 
Turguts,  84,  105 
Turjo  Gamba,  Lama,  283.    Also 

called:  Pandita  Lama 
Turkestan,  166 
Turoff,  Captain,  97 
Tushegoun  Lama,  115,  124, 164-5, 

167 
Tzagan  Luk,  299 
Tzeren,  no,  169 

Ubsa  Nor,  315 
Ugadai  Khan,  201,  265 
Ukraine  emigrants,  35 
Ulankom  83,  104 
Ulan  Taiga  Mountains,  79,  226 
Uliassutai,  84,  104,  et  seq. 
Undur  Dobo,  268 
Undur  Gheghen,  284,  302 
Ungem    von    Sternberg,    Baron 

Halsa,  238 
— General  Baron,  83,  104,  108,  et 

seq. 
— Heinrich,  239 
— Peter,  239 
—Ralph,  238 
— Wilhelm,  239 

Urga,  61,  104,  et  seq  (see  Ta  Kure) 
Urga,  Traveling  by,  211,  et  seq. 

The  word,  212 
Urianhai,  30,  33,  et  seq. 


INDEX 


325 


Usinsky  District,  50 
Ut  River,  51 
Utai,  Hutuktu  of,  293 
Ujook,  Khan,  201 

Vandaloflf,  Buriat  OflBcer,  187 
Van  Kure,  79,  154,  167,  et  seq. 
VasiliefiF,  Captain,  151 
Vernigora,  Cossack,  97 
Vesseloffsky,  Captain,  219,  et  seq. 
Vladmirovka,  58 
Volga  River,  265 
Vroubel,  The  painter,  103 
Vulfovitch,  Ofl&cer,  246 


Wang  Tsao-tsun,  Chinese  Com- 
missioner, 109,  123,  160,  165,  et 
seq. 

Yaga  River,  80 
Yakutsk  District,  151 
Yangtze  River,  84 
Yenisei  River,  3,  8,  et  seq. 

2^ganluk,  84 
Zagastai  Mountain,  103 
Zaia  Shabi,  187,  200,  et  seq. 
Zuboflf,  Captain,  97 
Zvmgaria,  Western,  loi 


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